Most filmmakers attending the Academy Awards haven’t thought twice about arranging showings for their acclaimed movies. Director Jehane Noujaim faced a different challenge. Complications with the censorship authorities stopped the film The Square from being released at Egyptian movie theaters.
The movie is a record of the political upheaval centered around Tahrir. According to the Associated Press, female director Jehane Noujaim wanted to convey “that energy and that spirit of being in the square."
To this day, the film has never been shown in many parts of Egypt. Noujaim said that the team submitted the film to authorities in September. Though they received verbal permission to show it at a festival, the film never received a written letter giving the go-ahead. The filmmakers did not feel comfortable moving forward. Without the large showing in Egypt, the film still gained international acclaim and was shown at Sundance and at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Noujaim’s film will be in competition in the documentary category withThe Act of Killing, Cutie and the Boxer, Dirty Wars, and 20 Feet from Stardom, according to Reuters.
The director of the Academy Award nominated movie, The Square, is looking forward to attending the Academy Awards this weekend.