Julia Bacha

A fascinating look inside the Al Jazeera network, which claims most of the Arab world's viewers. Egyptian-American filmmaker Noujaim (startup.com) went to Qatar a few weeks before the second Iraq war, and was able to win access inside the inner sanctum of the network, as well as U.S. Central Command. As history was being written, her camera was at the right place at the right time, as she shows how the network's reporting attracted devotion and controversy (such as when it televised footage of Iraqi civilian casualties or American P.O.Ws.) The Control Room is a surprising story about serious journalists who've taken the mantle from a Western media that's largely abandoned news for info-tainment and soft news "reporting." (PS) 83 mins.… (more)