NOUJAIM FILMS
NEW YORK OFFICE
130 West 67th Street, New York, NY 10023
CAIRO OFFICE
11A Hassan Sabry Street, Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt
www.noujaimfilms.com, info@noujaimfilms.com
CONTROL ROOM The military. The media.
The war in Iraq.
Who is making history?
Directed by: Jehane Noujaim
Produced by: Rosadel Varela (USA), Hani Salama (Middle East)
In the early days of the war in Iraq, Americans could turn on their televisions twenty-four hours a day and take a front row seat with coalition troops careening across the desert. We could follow the action live as precision bombers brought Iraqi cities to their knees and American POWs were rescued and triumphantly returned home as television heroes. We could watch soldiers toppling statues of Saddam Hussein.
But as Americans witnessed U.S. victory at home, a different story unfolded on television sets throughout the Arab world. Qatari-based Al-Jazeera broadcast images of Iraqi civilian casualties and American POWs that were taboo in the American media. Many claim that as a result, America barred Al- Jazeera journalists from reporting on Wall Street and bombed their headquarters in Baghdad.
As the saying goes there are always two sides to every story, but in a media-managed war where does the truth lie?
With exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Al- Jazeera, American journalists, and the players at Central Command, CONTROL ROOM takes an unprecedented look at the business of war.
Uniquely qualified with a cross-cultural perspective, Egyptian-American filmmaker Jehane Noujaim (Startup.com), travels to the headquarters of Al-Jazeera and U.S. Central Command to capture the staging of the war in Iraq and the media's vital role in writing history.
STARRING.
SAMEER KHADER
SENIOR PRODUCER,
AL-JAZEERA
After touring the Arab world as a journalist, Sameer settled as a senior producer for Al-Jazeera. His insights on the war go beyond politics to philosophical musings on history and human nature. Although deeply against Bush's policies, Sameer has an appreciation for American values and a strong personal desire to move to the US, send his children to college there and "exchange the Arab nightmare for the American dream." Still, he is critical of America's distrust of Al-Jazeera and argues
that "we [Al- Jazeera] don't want to alienate the Americans. we are what they want for the region-an Arab channel with western mentality." As CONTROL ROOM reveals, this conflicted lovehate mentality lies at the core of Arab American relations.
LIEUTENANT
JOSH RUSHING
PRESS OFFICER,
CENTRAL COMMAND
Lt. Rushing has the daunting task of defending America's military operation to the worldwide media. With an open-mind and a deep concern for the Arab perception of America, he engages in interviews and fierce debates. Although he is close to many Al-Jazeera journalists and respects their freedom, he believes that the news station itself is slanted towards Saddam's regime and portrays the U.S. inaccurately. Before going to the Middle East, Lt. Rushing worked in Hollywood negotiating script
content with big budget studios on behalf of the US military. His job was to ensure that the military was portrayed well in films. After his service as press officer for CentCom ends, Rushing plans to move back to Hollywood to pursue an acting career.
TOM MINTIER
CORRESPONDENT, CNN
Tom Mintier is a seasoned CNN
correspondent who began his career as a cameraman in Vietnam. As one of the most experienced journalists at CentCom, Tom uses his power to ensure that all journalists are given equal access to information. Sveral times, his perception of unfair favoring of American reporters during press conferences lead him to request that his chance to ask a question be transferred to a foreign journalist. Like most reporters, he is frustrated by the lack of accurate information coming out of CentCom
and is outraged by the coalition's bombing of Al-Jazeera.
HASSAN IBRAHIM
JOURNALIST, AL-JAZEERA
A Sudanese journalist, Hassan was raised in Saudi Arabia where he was a classmate of Osama Bin Laden, attended American universities, and headed the BBC Arab News Service before joining Al-Jazeera - which he believes is the only free news station in the Middle East, if not in the world.. A passionate Arab nationalist, vehemently against the war and the US presence in the Middle East, Hassan also continually praises the US and its constitution saying, "while the White House has been hi-jacked
by a bunch of oil men, the American people will be the only ones to stop this madness." As the war wears on, we watch as mounting civilian casualties pull Hassan down into a spiral of depression.
DAVID SHUSTER
CORRESPONDENT, NBC
David Shuster is a young NBC correspondent, proud to be a member of what he sees as a Western free press as opposed to the state-controlled media of the Arab world. His views are a fascinating foil to Deema. The two clash not only in their stances about what makes a free media, but also in their attitude towards covering the war.
DEEMA KHATIB
PRODUCER, AL-JAZEERA
Through her energetic commitment to Al-Jazeera, Deema challenges those who believe the days of genuine loyalty to a television network are gone. This young Syrian producer claims that her witty sense of humor allows her to face the horrors of war and "American occupation," as she calls it. Deema describes the Western war coverage as the most incredible piece of theatre she has ever seen.
"Al Jazeera is the channel that takes a licking and keeps on ticking. It's been called biased and seditious by many of the countries to which it broadcasts, it's been denounced by the Pentagon, banned from Islamic nations and the NYSE and, most recently, been accused of collaboration with Saddam Hussein" Antonia Zerbisias, Toronto Star, June 5, 2003 "Censoring death and suffering cuts us off from reality, severing the ties that ought to bind one human to another. Never forget, too, that
an image can bring home the truth in a way words cannot." Rowat, The Herald (Glasgow), May 30, 2003
"Al Jazeera, which has gained a reputation as an unusually independent voice in a region where many news media are government controlled, says it only airs messages according to news value"
- Tarek Al-Issawi, AP, May 22, 2003
"Like it or not, the media have become part of the arsenal of the political conflicts that define many aspects of U.S.-Arab relations. This is not incitement; this is digitized combat"
- Rami G. Khouri, for The Los Angeles Times
"From Algeria to America, Al Jazeera's unfiltered approach to reporting the news has garnered enemies all over the world"
- Anthony, The Scotsman, May 31, 2003
"The US-led war in Iraq was almost certainly the most intimately observed in history"
- Michael Jansen in The Irish Times
"Al Jazeera's reporters have been bombed and even killed by American forces; they've been beaten up by mobs in Detroit, tossed out of Iraq by Saddam and harassed by the British in Basra"
- Zerbisias Toronto Star, June 5, 2003
"Don't Shoot the Messengers of the War"
- Alison Rowat, The Herald (Glasgow), May 30, 2003
"Al Jazeera, which claims to have doubled its worldwide audience during the war, on numerous occasions has enraged the Bush Administration with what was seen in Washington as an anti-U.S. bias"
- Paul Martin, The Washington Times, May 12, 2003
THE FILMMAKERS
JULIA BACHA, EDITOR
Originally from Brazil, Julia Bacha came to New York in 1998 to study Middle Eastern history and politics at Columbia University. Alongside her academic studies, she pursued her interest in documentary photography by portraying life in the Brazilian Amazon, the Indian Hymalaias and the mountains of Cuba and Jamaica. In 2003 she graduated Magna Cum Lade and was awarded the Phi Betta Kappa prize.
LILAH BANKIER, EDITOR
Lilah Bankier is a film editor whose credits include “The Blues,” executive produced by Martin Scorcese, “Far From Home,” winner of the CNN/HBO Life Through Your Lens Competition, and the film “Dogs in the Basement,” winner of the First Film Special Distinction Award at the Montreal Film Festival. She was an additional editor on “Eat This New York” and “Tadpole” (Best
Directing Award, 2003 Sundance Film Festival), and the assistant editor on Gus Van Sant’s “Gerry.” Her television credits include programs for Oxygen Media, A & E, and PBS. She is currently editing the film “Swimmers,” directed by Doug Sadler, which was developed at the Sundance Institute’s Writing Lab.
CHARLIE MARQUARDT, EDITOR
After studying film production at Boston University and British literature at Oxford in the late 1980's, Charles began his career working as a production manager on music videos in London and Los Angeles for clients including Polygram, Epic, and Island Records. In 1991 he returned to his native Chicago to work as a producer for Rosalini Film Productions, a multiple Emmy-award winning production company. During a nine year tenure
with RFP, he produced and edited television commercials, corporate image, and documentary films. Clients included MFC Bank, The Lincoln Park Zoo, Liberty Science Center, Audubon Institute, The Museum of Science and Industry, and SC Johnson Wax. Charles established Picture Island's new home in New York City in the spring of 2000. Recent projects have included national advertising campaigns for Stayfree via McCann-Erickson, natural history programs for Sterling Digital/Cablevision, and
half-hour special editions of Vogue's Talley for Full Frontal Fashion and MetroTV.
JEHANE NOUJAIM, DIRECTOR
Jehane Noujaim began as a photographer and filmmaker in Cairo, Egypt, where she grew up. She moved to Boston in 1990, where she attended Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude in Visual Arts and Philosophy in 1996. Earlier that year, Noujaim was awarded the Gardiner fellowship under which she directed Mokattam, an Arabic film about an Egyptian garbage collecting village. She then joined the MTV News and Documentary
division as a producer for the documentary series, Unfiltered. Noujaim left her producing job at MTV to produce and direct Startup.com in association with Pennebaker Hedgedus Films. The feature length, highly acclaimed documentary has won numerous distinguished awards including the DGA and IDA Awards for best documentary. She has since worked in both the Middle East and the US as a director and cinematographer on various documentaries including Born Rich (Jamie Johnson), Only the Strong
Survive (Miramax Films), and Down from the Mountain (Cohen Brothers).
ALAN OXMAN, SUPERVISING EDITOR/CO-PRODUCER
Alan Oxman is a film editor whose credits include “Welcome to the Dollhouse” (Grand Jury Prize Sundance Film Festival), “Happiness” (International Critic's Award Cannes Film Festival), “Two Girls and a Guy”, and “Storytelling.” He co-edited “Unzipped,” which won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award and the A.C.E. Award for Best Documentary Editing. He also won
two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Documentary Editing on the PBS series “City Life.” His most recent television credits include “The Restaurant” (NBC), “The Blues” (PBS), and “The Three Way Threat” (MTV). As a producer, Alan’s credits include the documentary film “Children Underground” (Special Jury Prize Sundance Film Festival and Best Documentary at the IFP Gotham Awards), as well as the film “Assisted Living”
(Best Dramatic Feature at the Slamdance, Woodstock and GenArt Film Festivals).
BENT-JORGEN PERLMUTT, CO-PRODUCER
Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt’s interest in film began during his undergraduate years at Brown University where he wrote two feature-length screenplays and received honors in screenwriting. In 2002, he spent several months in the Democratic Republic of Congo shooting medical training videos and directing his first short film, VALUE ADDED. He has also worked as a boom operator for an independent feature-length film entitled TEDDY
and as a production assistant for various films, television programs and commercials including RAISING HELEN (Disney), THEY MADE AMERICA (WGBH), and Mitsubishi. As a graduate student pursuing his Masters of Fine Arts in Film at Columbia University, Perlmutt has written, shot, produced, and edited numerous short films.
HANI SALAMA, PRODUCER (Middle East)
Hani Salama is completing his Master's Degree in Journalism at the American University in Cairo and was awarded the prestigious Kamal Adham Fellowship for Television Journalism in 2001. He has worked as a freelance producer for NBC, CNBC, MBC, and as a cameraman for BBC, CBC and MTV. He has also composed several scores for film and telivision and worked on CONTROL ROOM as one of the composers. Salama currently works as a director,
content producer, and presenter for the Middle East Broadcasting Center.
ABDULLAH SCHLEIFER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Professor Schleifer is the publisher and senior editor of the e-journal Transnational Broadcasting Studies, the director of the Adham Center for Television Journalism and distinguished lecturer in mass communication at the American University in Cairo. Prior to joining the AUC faculty, Abdullah served as NBC News Cairo Bureau Chief and Middle East producer/reporter based in Beirut, and has covered the Middle East for American
and Arab media for over 30 years. Abdallah is the honorary chairman of the Foreign Press Association in Cairo, having served as its chairman during his years with NBC News.
ROSADEL VARELA, PRODUCER (USA)
Rosadel Varela has over ten years of experience in both film and television. Early in her career she worked at MTV Networks in the News/Documentary and Production divisions as a freelance producer. Some of her credits include, Unfiltered, The Video Music Awards, The State, House of Style, and many programs for the True Life documentary series. In 1998, she became a member of the highly selective Directors Guild of America Assistant
Director Training Program. There, she worked alongside directors such as Woody Allen, Penny Marshall, John Singleton, and Nicole Holofcener. On the television side, she worked on some of the most successful television series in history including Law & Order and Sex & the City. Varela graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and holds a Producers Certificate from the Business of Entertainment Program at NYU.
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