Jehane Noujaim

Director, producer, cinematographer and writer · Born May 17, 1974 (52) · Washington, D.C., USA

Jehane Noujaim is an Egyptian American documentary film director best-known for her films Control Room, Startup.com and Pangea Day. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jehane Noujaim, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Biography from TMDB.

Born: May 17, 1974 (52)
From: Washington, D.C., USA
Works as: Director, producer, cinematographer and writer
Titles: 12 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
Links: IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Down 28% in 30 days

What are Jehane Noujaim's films like?

Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight

Power

37%

Society

22%

Morality

18%

Ideas

11%

Self

5%

Bonds

3%

Survival

3%

Community4 Freedom3 Class2 Deception2 Oppression2 Justice3 Identity2 Art2

What they feel like to watch

their average across 9 films

ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

Earnest

Tone · Sincerity

ironicearnest

Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 8

Serious

Tone · Weight

lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 1 · Dark 4

Grounded

Tone · Style

naturalisticheightened

Grounded 7 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

Charged

Feel · Intensity

gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 3 · Charged 2 · Intense 4

Shifting

Feel · Swings

steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced

Feel · Humor

noneconstant

Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1

Even-paced

Demand · Pace

slowrelentless

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0

Engaged

Demand · Attention

casualfull focus

Casual 4 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1

Affecting

Demand · Emotional cost

easyheavy

Easy watch 3 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 3

Resolved

Demand · Resolution

resolvedambiguous

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense

7

Contemplative

6

Dread

4

Hopeful

3

Warm

3

Other

8

How their films linger

Thought-provoking6 Unsettling3 Hopeful3 Feel-good2 Bittersweet3 Rousing2

How their films end

Happy1
Bittersweet3
Ambiguous6
Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Jehane Noujaim's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (2).

Also on these channels

Cineverse1 title, show their title on Cineverse
Docurama1 title, show their title on Docurama
Dox1 title, show their title on Dox

Subscription and free streaming for Jehane Noujaim's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

17 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page.

The Man Will Burn(2026)
Show 4 episodes · Director · Executive Producer
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all shows
Penn F—ing Station (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Executive Producer
Defiant (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Executive Producer
Flight/Risk(2022)
Executive Producer
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
The Vow(2020)
Show 14 episodes · Director · Executive Producer
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows
Ramy(2019)
Show 1 episode · Director
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows
The Great Hack(2019)
Director
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
The Breadwinner(2017)
Executive Producer
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss(2014)
Director
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
The Square(2013)
Director · Cinematographer · Producer
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Rafea: Solar Mama (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Director
Budrus(2009)
Producer
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Egypt: We are watching you (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Director
Control Room(2004)
Director · Cinematographer · Executive Producer · Writer
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Only the Strong Survive(2002)
Camera Operator · Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Down from the Mountain(2000)
Cinematographer
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Startup.com (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Producer

Career shape

A full career of 15 titles from 2001 to 2026.

Biggest box office

The Breadwinner (2017)

$2.8M worldwide

Highest rated

The Breadwinner (2017)

Midcredits 98^th

By role

only this rolewith another role

Directing9 of 15 · 83^rdWriting1 of 15Producing8 of 15 · 61^stCinematography4 of 15Editing1 of 15Other crew1 of 15

15 titles, 5 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 4 of them.

By decade

2000s5 · crew2010s5 · crew2020s5 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Jehane Noujaim's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 88^th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 88^th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

88^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

85^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

57^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 9

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

75^th and up7
50^th to 74^th3
Below 25^th2

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 12 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

Universally Loved3
Crowd Pleaser5
Broadly Agreed1
Mixed3

Most divisive · director

We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss (2014)

87^th percentile spread · 36% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

The Breadwinner (2017)

Midcredits 98^th · 88% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 71/100 and the pacing 56/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.