Control Room

This documentary examines the international perspective on the Iraq War through the lens of Al Jazeera, a prominent news network in the Arab world. The film explores the tension between the station and the United States government, specifically focusing on the conflict between the news outlet and the Pentagon. While officials from the Bush administration accused the network of pro-Iraqi bias and criticized its broadcasts of civilian casualties and American prisoners of war, the film presents how the station reported events that the US government preferred to keep hidden.

Directed by Jehane Noujaim, this was the first of two films she directed, followed by The Great Hack in 2019. The screenplay was written by Noujaim and Julia Bacha. The cast features individuals appearing as themselves, including Al Jazeera senior producer Samir Khader and reporter Hassan Ibrahim, along with US State Department spokesman Nabeel Khoury and MSNBC correspondent David Shuster. This co-production between the United Kingdom, Denmark, Qatar, and the United States earned 3 million USD at the worldwide box office. On TMDB, the film holds a rating of 7.3/10 based on 62 votes. Film critics gave the movie a higher score of 7.8/10 across 111 reviews.