Quotes by Jehane Noujaim

About Jehane Noujaim:

Jehane Noujaim is an Egyptian American documentary film director best known for her films Control Room, Startup.com, Pangea Day and The Square, that earned her documentary a nomination for an Academy Award.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

It's incredible to see the creativity, beauty and hardships people capture when filmmaking is opened up and shared with the world.

Jehane Noujaim

Look at the Civil Rights Movement. Look at any kind of fight for change. People had to keep fighting and taking their rights. Rights are never given to you. They have to be fought for and they have to be taken.

Jehane Noujaim

Now, I don't know whether a film can change the world, but I know that it starts - I know the power of it - I know that it starts people thinking about how to change the world.

Jehane Noujaim

There are these very poor communities on the outskirts of Cairo called Mokattam, where a lot of the garbage collectors live. I used to volunteer there, doing health and education work when I was younger and living in Egypt.

Jehane Noujaim

It would be nice to be in one place for a while and have a social life again and get a job. But I'm not qualified to do anything. That's the problem.

Jehane Noujaim

I'll continue making films because I love being able to drop into other people's worlds. My goal is to be constantly learning.

Jehane Noujaim

Al Jazeera is one entity that everyone across the Arab world watches. Arabs are proud of that.

Jehane Noujaim

Being a filmmaker is kind of like being a glorified spy.

Jehane Noujaim

Al Jazeera is demonized by the United States, yet in Egypt my father would be watching it.

Jehane Noujaim

I've discovered I can't make a film about people I dislike.

Jehane Noujaim

You know, Arabs are critical of United States foreign policy, but they also associate the U.S. with democratic principles and opportunity.

Jehane Noujaim

In making films, I'm constantly looking for people who are in conflict and who are going to surprise you and challenge you.

Jehane Noujaim

Traveling around the world during the World Cup in 2006, I was thinking, 'Wow, this is such an incredible and global event.'

Jehane Noujaim

If you can laugh with somebody and relate to somebody, it becomes harder to dehumanize them. I think that most of what we are constantly bombarded with in terms of media leads you to a creation of 'the Other' and a dehumanization of 'the Other,' and ...

Jehane Noujaim

I have actually been very fortunate to be able to make films on my own credit card without having huge funders behind me dictating how the story should be told.

Jehane Noujaim

When I hear the words 'activist filmmaking,' I think of somebody who's an activist, who wants to prove a particular point.

Jehane Noujaim

It's important in any project to remain focused.

Jehane Noujaim

There are different opinions across the Middle East of Al-Jazeera. They've been kicked out of Egypt and Jordan and then let back in; they've been totally banned from Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Syria.

Jehane Noujaim

I don't know if there's such a thing as objectivity.

Jehane Noujaim

I'm interested in characters that are complex people.

Jehane Noujaim

Author Bio

  • NameJehane Noujaim
  • DescriptionAmerican filmmaker
  • BornMay 17, 1974
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionFilm Director
  • AwardsDirectors Guild Of America Award