Control Room
2004 · Movie · 84 min · ★ 7.4 · 87% critics
This documentary takes viewers inside a major Arab news network during the Iraq War, showing how coverage, images, and messaging differ across cultures and audiences. Through newsroom debates and on-the-ground reporting, it explores accusations of bias, clashes with official narratives, and the high stakes of telling a story while a conflict is unfolding.
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Watch free on Tubi — also streaming on Dox.
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Details
- Years
- 2004
- Release date
- 2004-01-22
- Language
- English
- Runtime
- 84 min
- Critic score
- 87/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.4/10 (61 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a challenging, conversation-starting look at war coverage and competing narratives; Not for you if you want a neutral, purely factual recap or avoid upsetting news footage, like in 5 Broken Cameras.
Pros: rare inside access; thought-provoking media debate; multiple viewpoints | Cons: perceived bias; uneven focus; can feel repetitive
Themes
- palestinian-israeli conflict
- journalism
- translation
- manipulation of the media
- iraq
- reporter
- iraq war
- baghdad
- mass media
- us military
- woman director
- usa foreign policy
Cast & crew
- SK
Samir Khader
as Self - Senior Producer, Al Jazeera
- JR
Josh Rushing
as Self (as Lt. Josh Rushing)
- HI
Hassan Ibrahim
as Self - Reporter, Al Jazeera
- AA
Abdul Jabbar Al-Kubeisi
as Self - Iraqi Dissident
- NK
Nabeel Khoury
as Self - Spokesman, US State Department
- DS
David Shuster
as Self - Correspondent, MSNBC
- TM
Tom Mintier
as Self - Correspondent, CNN
- MT
Muafak Tawfik
as Self - Translator, Al Jazeera
Omar Al-Issawi
as Self - Correspondent, Al Jazeera
- JB
Jihad Ali Ballout
as Self - Media Relations, Al Jazeera
Directed by Jehane Noujaim