The Square (2013 film)

2013 Egyptian film by Jehane Noujaim

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The Square (El-Midan)

Directed by| Jehane Noujaim
Produced by| Karim Amer
Starring| Khalid Abdalla
Ahmed Hassan
Dina Abdullah
Magdy Ashour
Sherif Boray
Aida El-Kashef
Cinematography| Jehane Noujaim
Muhammad Hamdy
Ahmed Hassan
Cressida Trew
Edited by| Christopher de la Torre
Mohammed el Manasterly
Karim Fanous
Pierre Haberer
Pedro Kos
Stefan Ronowicz
Shazeya Serag
Angie Wegdan Yasmin Kamal
Music by| Jonas Colstrup
Score:
H. Scott Salinas

Production
companies

Noujaim Films
Worldview Entertainment

Distributed by| GathrFilms
Participant Media

Release dates

* January 18, 2013 (2013-01-18) (Sundance)
* September 6, 2013 (2013-09-06) (TIFF)
* October 25, 2013 (2013-10-25) (United States)

Running time

| 108 minutes[1]
Countries| Egypt
United States
Languages| Egyptian Arabic
English
Budget| $1.5 million[2]
Box office| $124,244[3]

The Square (Arabic: الميدان, romanized: Al-Maydan) is a 2013 Egyptian-American documentary film by Jehane Noujaim, which depicts the Egyptian Crisis until 2013, starting with the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 at Tahrir Square.[4] The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards.[5] It also won three Emmy Awards at the 66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, out of four for which it was nominated.

## Release

[edit]

The Square premiered on January 17, 2013, at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for World Cinema in the documentary category.[4] It was pitched as part of the 2012 MeetMarket at that year's Sheffield Doc/Fest. Due to the ongoing nature of the Egyptian Revolution, Noujaim updated the ending of the film over the summer of 2013.[4] The film was subsequently also named winner of the Kalba People's Choice Award in the documentary category at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[6] The production is done in the native languages of its cast and is presented with English subtitles.

The film was released on Netflix and in exclusive locations across the United States on January 17, 2014.[7] The final version was modified to take political developments into the final version, as released on Netflix.

## Critical reception

[edit]

The Square received universal acclaim, currently holding a 100% "fresh" rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 70 reviews, with a weighted average of 8.40/10.[8] On Metacritic, the film has an 84/100 rating based on 21 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[9]

A.O. Scott of The New York Times wrote, "The Square, while it records the gruesome collision of utopian aspirations with cold political realities, is not a despairing film. It concludes on a note of resolve grounded in the acknowledgment that historical change can be a long, slow process."[10]

The Chicago Tribune described it as "[a] compelling inside look at the cascading series of revolutions and counterrevolutions that have shaken Egypt since the beginning of 2011."[11] The Washington Post described it as "elegantly shot and structured, but infused with rough, spontaneous energy; global in its consciousness but intimate in its approach; carefully pitched but emotionally wrenching; deeply troubling but ultimately exhilarating."[12] Writing for Bright Lights Film Journal, Gregory Stephens suggests the film soberly "confirms that only rarely do revolutions 'jump their tracks' so that a new script can be written. ... This disaffection, both spontaneous and stylized, makes good copy, and good theatre. On whether or not it can lead to a new script of how government 'of the people' serves the often conflicting interests of its citizens, the jury is still out."[13]

### Accolades

[edit]

The Square received the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary at the 2013 Sundance film festival[14] and the best feature award from the International Documentary Association.[15] It was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2014 Academy Awards.[16] It also won three Emmys, for Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming, Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming and Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming, along with the Tim Hetherington Award at Sheffield Doc/Fest in 2013.[17][18]

## Cast

[edit]

* Khalid Abdalla
* Dina Abdullah
* Magdy Ashour
* Sherif Boray
* Aida Elkashef
* Ramy Essam
* Ahmed Hassan
* Bothaina Kamel
* Khaled Nagy
* Ragia Omran
* Salma Saied
* Ahmed Saleh
* Pierre Seyoufr
* Ramy Shaath
* Timo de Jong
* Niels Verouden
* Jesse Dijksma
* Valesto
* Willie J
* TeamO
* Murk
* Zaid
* Abdala
* Brian Los
* Hesse
* Kjoenster
* Sneert
* Jaliun
* Shane

## See also

[edit]

* Egyptian cinema
* Tahrir 2011: The Good, the Bad, and the Politician, a 2012 Egyptian documentary film
* List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a film review aggregator website

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "THE SQUARE (15)". Kaleidoscope Entertainment. British Board of Film Classification. December 20, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
2. ^ "The Square (2013) - Box office / business". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
3. ^ The Square at Box Office Mojo Retrieved January 28, 2014
4. ^ a b c "Filmmaker Noujaim Talks Sundance Winner Egyptian Revolution Doc 'The Square,' Updates Ending in Cairo" Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. IndieWire, July 12, 2013.
5. ^ "The Square - Documentary Feature". ABC. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
6. ^ "TIFF doc The Square wins People's Choice award". CBC News, September 15, 2013.
7. ^ "Netflix gets its first Oscars nod with 'The Square'". CNET.
8. ^ The Square at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved June 19, 2023
9. ^ The Square at Metacritic Retrieved July 1, 2019
10. ^ Scott, A. O. (October 24, 2013). "Brave Optimism of Tahrir Square Meets Other Fierce Forces". The New York Times.
11. ^ Turan, Kenneth (February 11, 2011). "Documentary The Square, nominated for an Oscar, details life in an Egyptian crossroads". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
12. ^ Hornaday, Ann (January 16, 2014). "'The Square' movie review: An exhilarating portrait of Egyptian politics". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
13. ^ Stephens, Gregory (May 7, 2014). "Recording the Rhythm of Change: A Rhetoric of Revolution in The Square". Bright Lights Film Journal. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
14. ^ "2013 Sundance Film Festival". Sundance Institute. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
15. ^ McNary, Dave (December 6, 2013). "'The Square' Takes Top Trophy at International Documentary Awards". Variety. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
16. ^ "Nominees for the 86th Oscars". Retrieved February 6, 2014.
17. ^ http://emmys.com
18. ^ "Egyptian documentary The Square wins three Emmy awards". Ahram Online. August 18, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2015.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* The Square on Netflix
* The Square at IMDb
* The Square at Box Office Mojo
* The Square at Rotten Tomatoes
* The Square at Metacritic

* v
* t
* e

Jehane Noujaim

Films directed|

* Control Room (2004)
* Rafea: Solar Mama (2012)
* The Square (2013)
* The Great Hack (2019)

TV series directed|

* The Vow (2020–2022)

* v
* t
* e

Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award: Documentaries

* The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls (2009)
* Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie (2010)
* The Island President (2011)
* Artifact (2012)
* The Square (Al-Midan) (2013)
* Beats of the Antonov (2014)
* Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (2015)
* I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
* Faces Places (2017)
* Free Solo (2018)
* The Cave (2019)
* Inconvenient Indian (2020)
* The Rescue (2021)
* Black Ice (2022)
* Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe (2023)
* The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal (2024)

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