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[MUSIC PLAYING]
JACOB SOBOROFF: For the past three years,
the Egyptian revolution has been a roller coaster.
Two presidents have been deposed, thousands of people
have died, and just yesterday, the prime minister abruptly
resigned his government. "The Square"
is a newly-released documentary that gives a street-level look
at the ongoing revolution since 2011.
AHMED HASSAN: [SPEAKING ARABIC]
[GUN SHOTS]
[CROWD CHEERING]
JACOB SOBOROFF: It's up for an Oscar this Sunday.
And we've got the filmmaker Jehane and the producer Karim
right here.
Hi, guys.
JEHANE NOUJAIM: Hey, what's up?
KARIM AMER: How are you doing, YouTube?
JACOB SOBOROFF: Guys, tell us about the challenges
of making a film like this.
JEHANE NOUJAIM: All of us got either arrested, tear gassed,
shot at at various points in the making of the film.
JACOB SOBOROFF: When they first debuted the movie at Sundance,
it wasn't even reallt done, right?
JEHANE NOUJAIM: It was a work in progress,
and we promised all of our characters
that we would go back and continue filming.
Because we had a very neat story from the bringing
down of a dictator to the election of a president.
But the story wasn't over, because all of our characters,
when we were on the way to Sundance,
were back in the streets again, basically saying,
this newly-elected president, first freely-elected president
of Egypt, is using the tools of democracy
to create another dictatorship.
[CROWD CHANTING IN ARABIC]
JACOB SOBOROFF: So these guys just put the movie on YouTube
for the people in Egypt.
What motivated that, and how does it work exactly?
KARIM AMER: YouTube was an integral part
of this revolution.
When you live in a country where the media is in full control
and is lying about what's happening on the ground,
our young activists used YouTube as their own channel
to spread their stores.
AHMED HASSAN: [SPEAKING ARABIC]
JACOB SOBOROFF: Obviously, right now there's
protests in Venezuela, unrest in the Ukraine.
Why now is this time important for people to see this film,
do you think?
JEHANE NOUJAIM: What these kids are fighting
for is what this country was founded on,
which is civil liberties and freedom
of expression and human rights.
I mean, it's the civil rights struggle of our time.
And that's what's happening in Egypt
right now as they're being silenced.
And so releasing this film now and the support
of the international community makes it
so that it's not just a lonely fight of protesters
on the frontlines in Egypt.
It makes it a global fight.
AHMED HASSAN: [SPEAKING ARABIC]
JACOB SOBOROFF: Jehane's the only female director
nominated for an Oscar this year.
Where can people see this movie?
JEHANE NOUJAIM: Well, you can see it
on Netflix in 47 countries, including the US.
And also internationally, you can see it
by going to our YouTube site.
JACOB SOBOROFF: Thank you so much to these guys.
We've put together a playlist with moments of triumph
from Tahrir Square.
You could see that after the show.
[MUSIC PLAYING]