It’s 2003, and the United States is on the brink of war with Iraq. The producers and reporters of the Al Jazeera satellite channel will broadcast the conflict to some 40 million Arab viewers. Control Room follows these journalists as, championing free debate and squarely facing controversy, they strive to awaken viewers to the realities on the ground. Al Jazeera’s coverage cuts through the American rhetoric, offering a stark counterpoint to the sanitized descriptions of war broadcast by the Bush administration. Viewers in the United States and those in the Middle East witness two vastly different versions of events. Moving between Al Jazeera’s headquarters and the channel’s post at Central Command, where news outlets from around the world have set up to cover the war, the film captures frank conversations about what stories receive airtime, which images are seen, and whose voices are heard. Intercutting these scenes with news footage, the film presents a complicated examination of the possibility of unbiased reporting and underscores the importance of an international news media.  ST

Q&A following screening