Control Room

Different channels. Different truths.

Awards (click to collapse)

Full Frame Documentary Festival, USA (2003) – Winner: Grand Jury Award, CDS Filmmaker Award

Sydney FF, Australia (2004) – Winner: FIPRESCI Prize

Writers Guild of America, USA (2005) – Nominated: Documentary Screenplay Award

Seattle Film Critics Awards, USA (2004) – Winner: Best Documentary

Full Frame Documentary Festival, USA (2004) – Nominated: Seeds of War

Chlotrudis Awards, USA (2005) – Nominated: Best Documentary

Women Film Critics Circle Awards, USA (2004) – Winner: Best Documentary: Groundbreaker

Gold Derby Awards, USA (2005) – Nominated: Documentary Feature

AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, USA (2005) – Nominated: Best Documentary

Boston Society of Film Critics Awards, USA (2004) – Winner: Best Documentary

Critics Choice Awards, USA (2005) – Nominated: Best Documentary Feature

CINE Competition, USA (2005) – Winner: Golden Eagle (Documentary)

CINE Competition, USA (2005) – Nominated: CINE Masters' Series Award (Broadcast Division)

Directors Guild of America, USA (2005) – Nominated: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary

Film Independent Spirit Awards, USA (2005) – Nominated: Truer Than Fiction Award

International Documentary Association, USA (2004) – Nominated: Feature Documentaries

Online Film Critics Society Awards (2005) – Nominated: Best Documentary

Short

International

Award Winning

Year(s) Shown

2004

Director(s):

Jehane Noujaim

Country:

USA | Egypt

Year:

2003

Duration:

52 min

Language(s):

Arabic | English

Format(s):

Video

RATING:

control-room-poster-portrait Poster — Film Poster

As the US-led Coalition invaded Iraq in March 2003, every news channel flew in and relayed back to their audience information on the ensuing war that was coordinated by the US army, which was fighting both a media and a ground war. One channel had a different view of events.

Offering a rare window into the international perception of the Iraq War, Control Room show how Al Jazeera broadcast the unfolding events to 40 million Arab viewers. Claiming to be objective, Al Jazeera was intent on presenting the “human cost” of war and was publicly vilified by both Bush and Rumsfeld for it. This passionate exposé is a clear document of war, an inquiry into how events are filtered into “news,” and a complex portrait of the personalities behind the scenes.

Film Stills