(AFP) – Streaming TV and movie provider Netflix won its first Oscar nomination Thursday for “The Square,” a documentary about the 2011 revolution and ongoing strife in Egypt.
The movie, to be released on Friday, recounts the turmoil in Egypt centered on Cairo’s Tahrir Square since the uprising nearly three years ago that ousted long-time president Hosni Mubarak.
Netflix made television history last year when its political drama “House of Cards” became the first online-only series nominated for a major Emmy award.
Last weekend, Netflix won its first Golden Globe, with Robin Wright taking best drama actress for her “Cards” role as the wife of Kevin Spacey’s scheming congressman Francis Underwood.
It bought the streaming rights for “The Square” in November, after the documentary won critical acclaim on the festival circuit.
The film follows the revolution through the eyes of six different protesters, starting in the tents of Tahrir Square before Mubarak’s fall, according to the movie industry website IMDb.
