Participant Media To Mount A Social Action Campaign for ‘The Square’

Participant Media will join forces with director-producer Jehane Noujaim (Control Room; Startup.com; Rafea: Solar Mama) and producer Karim Amer (Rafea: Solar Mama) for the documentary THE SQUARE, a riveting, deeply human chronicle of the Egyptian protest movement. Participant Media will mount a comprehensive social action campaign targeting universities, cultural institutions and thought leaders across the country, with support from Participant’s digital network TakePart as well as “TakePart Live,” its live nightly talk show on Pivot, Participant’s new television network.

The first film to win the Audience Award at both the Sundance and Toronto film festivals, THE SQUARE will open theatrically in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, Boston and Toronto on January 17, 2014. The film is being released theatrically by Noujaim Films.

THE SQUARE is an epic documentary that tells the behind-the-headlines story of the Egyptian Revolution through the eyes of young activists who have sought for the last two years to build a better Egypt. The film captures the immediacy and intensity of the protests in Tahrir Square from the 2011 overthrow of military leader Hosni Mubarak through the ousting of Mohammed Morsi in 2013, providing a kaleidoscopic, visceral portrait of the events as they unfold before Magdy, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Khalid Abdalla, an Egyptian actor who played the lead in Participant’s The Kite Runner and the charismatic Ahmed, whose poetic storytelling carries the narrative. Armed with nothing more than cameras, social media, deep consciousness, and a resolute commitment to change, these young revolutionaries give us a front line perspective of the ongoing struggle fought with new weapons.

“Jehane has crafted a compelling, emotional and enlightening film that transports you to the center of Tahrir Square,” said Participant CEO Jim Berk. “We look forward to deploying all our social action resources at Participant to bring THE SQUARE to the widest possible audience.”

Noujaim said, “We made THE SQUARE in order to inspire the hearts and minds of people worldwide, and we are thrilled that Participant Media, a company that was founded on the belief that film has the power to change the world, will create and implement a social action campaign for the film.”

The deal was negotiated by Participant’s COO Jeff Ivers, with Cinetic Media’s John Sloss on behalf of the filmmakers.

About Participant Media
Participant is a global entertainment company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll to focus on feature film, television, publishing and digital content that inspires social change. Participant’s more than 40 films include GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, SYRIANA, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, FOOD, INC., WAITING FOR ‘SUPERMAN’, THE HELP, CONTAGION and LINCOLN. Through its films, social action campaigns, digital network TakePart.com and Pivot, its new television network for Millennials, Participant seeks to entertain, encourage and empower every individual to take action.