Filmmaker Jehane Noujaim will speak Tuesday, Oct. 29, at UCF about her Sundance award-winning film, “The Square.” The documentary uses Tahrir Square as a focal point to tell the story of the ongoing revolution in Egypt. The event will be held at 3 p.m. in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union. It is free and open to the public.
As an activist and filmmaker, Noujaim uses her films to move people toward global acceptance of diversity. This concept won her the TED Prize in 2006. In addition to “The Square,” her films and documentaries include “Control Room,” which gives an insider’s look at the beginning of the war in Iraq in 2003, and “Rafea: Solar Mama,” which follows one Bedouin woman’s journey toward becoming Jordan’s first solar engineer. Noujaim says her work helps “people to see themselves in others through the power of film.”
The event is organized by the UCF Global Perspectives Office, which strives to sharpen UCF’s international focus as part of its 2013-2014 program theme, “What is Global is Local.”
In addition to Global Perspectives, sponsors and partners of the event include the UCF Middle Eastern Studies Program, UCF Kurdish Political Studies Initiative, UCF Diplomacy Program, UCF Global Peace and Security Studies Program, Orlando Area Committee on Foreign Relations, Chastang Charitable Foundation, UCF Political Science Department and the Global Connections Foundation.
Global Perspectives was designed to help develop UCF’s international resources, capabilities and connections. In addition to organizing events, such as this one, the office houses multiple programs and offers several internships and fellowships that help to connect UCF and the Central Florida community to the world. For more information, visit http://ucfglobalperspectives.org/.