Jehane Noujaim began as a photographer and filmmaker in Cairo, Egypt, where she grew up. She moved to Boston in 1990, where she attended Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude in Visual Arts and Philosophy in 1996. Earlier that year, Noujaim was awarded the Gardiner fellowship under which she directed Mokattam, an Arabic film about an Egyptian garbage collecting village. She then joined the MTV News and Documentary division as a producer for the documentary series, Unfiltered. Noujaim left her producing job at MTV to produce and direct Startup.com in association with Pennebaker Hedgedus Films. The feature length, highly acclaimed documentary has won numerous distinguished awards including the DGA and IDA Awards for best documentary. She has since worked in both the Middle East and the US as a director and cinematographer on various documentaries including Born Rich (Jamie Johnson), Only the Strong Survive (Miramax Films), and Down from the Mountain (Cohen Brothers).

Short Filmography
Startup.com (2001) as producer and director
Only the Strong Survive (2002) as cinematographer,
Down from the Mountain (2002) as cinematographer,
Control Room (2004) as producer and director
Born Rich (2003) as cinematographer
Encounter Point (2006) as executive producer
Shayfeen.com: We Are Watching You (2008) directed by Sherief Elkatsha, as co-director
Budrus (2011) as executive producer.
Rafea: Solar Mama (2012), as codirector, with Mona Eldaief