Fresh from winning the best World Documentary award at Sundance, The Square director Jehane Noujaim comes to BYOD to discuss her background in film and the process of telling the story of the Egyptian revolution.
Jehane also shares the feeling she had of crawling through the dark while filming, and still managing to make a film that is recognized and appreciated.
Watch new episodes of BYOD live each week on Tuesdays at noon on TheLip.TV, or tune in for the archived replay starting here on the following Thursday.
ABOUT BYOD:
BYOD is hosted by Ondi Timoner, director of “DIG!,” “JOIN US” and “WE LIVE IN PUBLIC,” and has the rare distinction of winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance twice. Each week the show explores a different documentary filmmaker or aspect of filmmaking, with special guests and a live Q&A– diving deep into creative process and the business realities of producing and distributing films. Ondi shares her insider views, opinions, and personal stories, welcoming audience participation. BYOD aims to entertain, inform, and elevate documentaries in general by bringing attention to films and film makers that deserve exposure.
GUEST BIO:
Jehane Noujaim is an Egyptian-American filmmaker who began her career with the MTV documentary series, Unfiltered. She left her post as segment producer to work with the legendary Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker on the film
STARTUP.COM, which led to numerous nominations and won awards at The International Documentary Association, Philadelphia, Doubletake Documentary Film Festival, and a DGA Award.
Jehane followed the success of the film with the equally acclaimed CONTROL ROOM, which won awards at Full Frame, Boston Society of Film Critics, International Documentary Association, Seattle Film Critics, and Sydney Film Festival.
Continuing her work in both the United States and The Middle East, Jehane is back with a new film, THE SQUARE, depicting the revolution in Egypt’s famous Tahrir Square. She is back, fresh from Park City, where she was awarded the World Documentary Audience Award at Sundance for her magnificent work on this film.
ADD’L LINKS:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/noujaimfilms/the-square-a-film-about-the-egyptian-revolution
https://www.facebook.com/TheSquareFilm
http://britdoc.org/real_films/britdoc-bertha-awards/the-square
http://www.democracynow.org/seo/2013/1/25/the_square_jehane_noujaims_new_film
EPISODE BREAKDOWN:
00:01 Welcoming Jehane Noujaim to BYOD.
04:12 Filming abroad for Rafea Solar Mama.
06:59 Rafea Solar Mama, Clip.
09:35 Finding inspiration from women of the village.
10:35 Jehane’s background in the US and Egypt.
10:58 From photography to D.A. Pennebaker and getting confidence as a filmmaker.
16:25 STARTUP.COM, clip.
17:53 Coming to film STARTUP.COM.
22:40 Filming people that are putting everything on the line.
25:10 Getting access Al Jazeera for Control Room.
27:31 Control Room, Clip.
30:06 Referring to Control Room while working on The Square.
34:07 A collaborative effort to make the film and record the revolution.
35:52 The Square, Clip: Ahmed in a difficult situation.
38:55 How everybody came together and filming while running for your life.
42:25 What brought Egyptians to the Square?
44:18 The brief Utopia of the revolution.
47:15 Funding the film.
49:00 The Square, Clip. Violence and tumult .
52:13 The struggle to make the movie and then getting recognized at Sundance.
56:10 Following the film.
