Jehane Noujaim

The Breadwinner

A headstrong young girl in Afghanistan, ruled by the Taliban, disguises herself as a boy in order to provide for her family.

The Great Hack

Data—arguably the world’s most valuable asset—is being weaponized to wage cultural and political wars. The dark world of data exploitation is uncovered through the unpredictable, personal journeys of players on different sides of the explosive Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data story.

Down from the Mountain

On May 24, 2000, the historic Ryman Auditorium was booked to offer Nashvillians an evening of sublime beauty. Label executives and soundtrack producers so loved the music of O Brother, Where Art Thou? that they brought it to life as a benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame. Filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen loved it so much that they hired famed documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker to record the show for posterity. The concert that unfolded that night was one of the greatest musical moments in the annals of Music City. Performers: John Hartford, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Chris Thomas King, The Cox Family, Fairfield Four, Union Station, Colin Linden, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, The Peasall Sisters, Ralph Stanley, David Rawlings, The Whites.

Only the Strong Survive

A film featuring the veteran soul music artists and music of Stax Records. It tells the story of soul, a musical genre that was to have a major influence on other styles of music for decades. Ten legends of soul talk about the beginnings and still show at their concerts today that, despite their advanced age, they have lost none of the energy and joie de vivre that defines this music.

Startup.com

Friends since high school, 20-somethings Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman have an idea: a Web site for people to conduct business with municipal governments. This documentary tracks the rise and fall of govWorks.com from May of 1999 to December of 2000, and the trials the business brings to the relationship of these best friends. Kaleil raises the money, Tom's the technical chief. A third partner wants a buy out; girlfriends come and go; Tom's daughter needs attention. And always the need for cash and for improving the site. Venture capital comes in by the millions. Kaleil is on C-SPAN, CNN, and magazine covers. Will the business or the friendship crash first?

Flight/Risk

Everyday people find themselves in the midst of a global tragedy when two Boeing 737 Max planes crashed only five months apart in 2018 and 2019. This powerful documentary is told through the perspective of affected family members, their legal teams, whistleblowers, and Pulitzer-winning Seattle Times journalist, Dominic Gates.

Penn F—ing Station

Sixty years ago, the late, great Neoclassical Penn Station was razed and replaced with the crowded, subterraneous version of the transit hub New Yorkers now know. Today, an all-too-similar demolition debate has resurfaced over the train station. But while just about every New Yorker can agree they hate Penn Station, no one can agree on how to fix it.

Rafea: Solar Mama

Rafea: Solar Mama follows the groundbreaking journey of one Bedouin mother living on the Jordan-Iraq border who, along with thirty illiterate grandmothers from around the world, will travel to The Barefoot College in India to become Solar Engineers. (TIFF)

Control Room

A chronicle which provides a rare window into the international perception of the Iraq War, courtesy of Al Jazeera, the Arab world's most popular news outlet. Roundly criticized by Cabinet members and Pentagon officials for reporting with a pro-Iraqi bias, and strongly condemned for frequently airing civilian causalities as well as footage of American POWs, the station has revealed (and continues to show the world) everything about the Iraq War that the Bush administration did not want it to see.

The Square

The Square looks at the hard realities faced day-to-day by people working to build Egypt’s new democracy. Cairo’s Tahrir Square is the heart and soul of the film, which follows several young activists. Armed with values, determination, music, humor, an abundance of social media, and sheer obstinacy, they know that the thorny path to democracy only began with Hosni Mubarak’s fall. The life-and-death struggle between the people and the power of the state is still playing out.

Egypt: We are watching you

In his 2005 State of the Union address President George W. Bush cites Egypt as the country that will pave the way for democracy in the Middle East. Three women, unable to sit by while their country is on the brink of drastic change, start a grassroots movement to educate and empower the public by raising awareness about the meaning of democracy. They name their campaign Shayfeen.com, which means to “we are watching you.” This film follows the highs and lows of the first year of the movement in Egypt. Insisting that only the people can make change happen, their goal is to educate the Egyptian public on what it takes to build the most basic pillars of democracy: demanding basic human rights, freedom of speech and the establishment of an independent judiciary. Egypt: We are Watching You shows the role ordinary citizens can play in shaping and securing their democracy.

Defiant

Unique access to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and other key figures in the administration who are fighting to save their country against Russia’s invasion by combatting disinformation.

Ramy

Ramy, the son of Egyptian immigrants, is on a spiritually conflicting journey in his New Jersey neighborhood, pulled between his Muslim community that thinks life is a constant test, his millennial friends who think life is full of endless possibilities, and a God who's always watching.

The Vow

The docuseries follows people deeply involved in the group NXIVM — which is faced with various charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy — over the course of several years.

The Man Will Burn

Explores the definitive story of the Burning Man festival, filmed over three years with the co-operation of the Burning Man Project, the non-profit behind it, and featuring archive from the last 30 years.