In this modern era of socially-driven news media, the world might believe they have a full picture of the Egyptian revolution. But the new documentary from Egyptian filmmaker Jehane Noujaim The Square does more than just retrace those protests and uprisings to their roots in Tahrir Square. Noujaim’s film allows everyday Egyptians to take the reins, write their own history, and document their own experiences firsthand. All the major events of the revolution—Mubarak’s ouster, the Square's takeover by the Muslim Brotherhood, the peaceful sit-ins that escalated into bloody battles—are meticulously documented herein, making for both an accurate portrayal and a stunningly cinematic documentation of a revolution still in progress.
The Square, which has been nominated in the Best Feature category in the IDA Documentary Awards, screened Monday, October 28 at the Landmark in Los Angeles as a part of the IDA Documentary Screening Series. Producer Karim Amer, actor and activist Khalid Abdalla and editor Pedro Kos sat down with Anne Thompson to discuss how the people of Egypt became empowered to capture their own footage of the events that were slowly changing their nation.
Watch below:
You can watch more moments from this Q&A at our IDA Screening Series playlist on our YouTube channel.
Learn more about the other docs set to play in the IDA Documentary Screening Series