LOS ANGELES — On a comfy couch at Netflix's office, where each room is named after a television show, The Square documentary director Jehane Noujaim sits cross-legged and barefoot inside a room labeled after AMC's hit drama "Breaking Bad."
Miles and miles away from the scene of the Egyptian revolution detailed in her Oscar-nominated documentary, Noujaim and the the film's producer, Karim Amer, will attend the 86th Academy Awards on Sunday, all the while balancing a mix of opposing emotions.
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"The fun parties and the glitz and the glamour of the red carpet feel very far away from the ideals for which we originally made this film for," Noujaim added. "However, I never imagined the power the nomination carried with it — and that's what's important. It's exciting but at the same time we're worried about our families and our characters and our crew in Cairo."
Not on the confirmed guest list for the Oscars, though will be several key characters from The Square, which earned Netflix its first-ever Oscar nomination.
"We would love to be celebrating this day more than anything with the lead character, Ahmed, but we can't get him permission to leave [Egypt]," Noujaim told Mashable. "Ramy, the singer in the film, also doesn't have permission to leave the country. Magdy is currently in hiding; he obviously can not leave because he was 25 years in [Mohamed] Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, which is now being persecuted."
"The people that can come though, I believe, are Khalid Abdalla, who was the actor in the Kite Runner," she added, "and Ragia Omran, who is the human rights lawyer and somebody I call our Erin Brockovich of Egypt."
The Square, a contender for Best Feature Documentary, details the revolution in Egypt from the 2011 overthrow of military leader Hosni Mubarak through the ousting of Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
"This film started in Tahrir Square with the protestors and it's a been a long three-year ride with people who have given their hearts, souls, blood and sweat to this film," she said.
The Square debuted on Netflix in January after the service acquired its streaming rights.

The documentary, which in addition to Netflix's reach has spread via word of mouth through online downloads and YouTube views, continues to resonate in Egypt and across the world with citizens facing similar conflicts.
"It's a film that ends with a conclusion the characters come to, which is that the fight is going to continue for a long time but we have to figure out how to keep holding our government accountable — and that's a universal issue," Noujaim said. "So we're thrilled to be at the Oscars because it represents a voice of freedom and democracy and human rights in Egypt and elsewhere at a time when many people have been jailed."
For example, protesters in Kiev, Ukraine, took the film, put subtitles on it and held a screening in the city's square. The Square was also screened in Caracas, Venezuela, where Ahmed used Skype to have a conversation with the audience.
"They're using it as a tool to begin a conversation, and that's what's exciting about releasing on Netflix as well because 47 countries at the same time can go online after seeing and have a discussion with people from very different circumstances who are still fighting to change their own relationships with their government," Noujaim said.

Harvard educated Jehane Noujaim directed The Square documentary.
Image: Ahmed Hassan
And although Noujaim wishes the film's primary characters could all come, she won't be alone on the red carpet or at the ceremony.
"A bunch of the crew might be able to come to the Oscars as well," Noujaim said earlier this week. "We're a country that has always appreciated cinema. We have a rich cinematic history. This nomination for this very prestigious awards means something in Egypt: It's the first time an Egyptian film has ever been nominated."
The Square is vying for Best Feature Documentary Oscar against The Act of Killing, Cutie and the Boxer, Dirty Wars and 20 Feet from Stardom.
This is the second year an online-only entity has made a major splash at the Academy Awards. Last year, a Kickstarter-funded film, Inocente, won the award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). In total, six Kickstarter-backed films have been nominated over past years.
Netflix acquired The Square in November after the film found critical success on the film festival circuit. It was one of two documentary acquisitions by Netflix; the other, The Short Game, was about young golfers on their way to the World Championships of Junior Golf. The acquisitions were viewed as bold statements to enter the Academy Awards race.
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