“When I hear the words 'activist filmmaking,' I think of somebody who's an activist, who wants to prove a particular point.” Quote by Jehane Noujaim
“Those who speak ill of the spiritual life, although they come and go by day, are like the smith's bellows: they take breath but are not alive.” SpiritualSpeakAliveBreathsIllSpiritual LifeComes And Goes Author:William Hazlitt
“I've discovered I can't make a film about people I dislike.” PeopleI CanFilmDislike Author:Jehane Noujaim
“You know, Arabs are critical of United States foreign policy, but they also associate the U.S. with democratic principles and opportunity.” KnowsStatesOpportunityUnitedPrinciplesUnited StatesPolicyDemocraticCriticalForeign PolicyAssociates Author:Jehane Noujaim
“If you can laugh with somebody and relate to somebody, it becomes harder to dehumanize them. I think that most of what we are constantly bombarded with in terms of media leads you to a creation of 'the Other' and a dehumanization of 'the Other,' and it's very much an us-versus-them conversation.” IfsThinkingTermLaughingMediaCreationConversationHarderRelateVersusDehumanizationBombardedBombarded By Author:Jehane Noujaim
“I'm interested in characters that are complex people.” PeopleCharacterComplexes Author:Jehane Noujaim
“I have actually been very fortunate to be able to make films on my own credit card without having huge funders behind me dictating how the story should be told.” ShouldStoriesAbleFilmMy OwnBehindsHugeCreditCardsFortunateCredit CardDictating Author:Jehane Noujaim
“I used to do volunteer work in poor areas of Cairo, and people would gather their money together to get a satellite dish. You'd see them huddling around and for the first time seeing issues being debated on TV that had never been talked about before. And that is the biggest promoter of democracy you could possibly have.” PeopleFirstsTogetherUsedPoorDemocracyIssuesSeeingTvsFirst TimeAreasDishesVolunteerSatellitesPromotersCairoVolunteer Work Author:Jehane Noujaim
“There are these very poor communities on the outskirts of Cairo called Mokattam, where a lot of the garbage collectors live. I used to volunteer there, doing health and education work when I was younger and living in Egypt.” UsedCommunityPoorVolunteerEgyptGarbageCollectorsCairoHealth And Education Author:Jehane Noujaim