If you paid attention to the news over the past year and half, then you know the story of Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower. I recently went to see the documentary "CITIZENFOUR," a film created by Laura Poitras, the first person Edward Snowden contacted about his information regarding the NSA.
In the opening shot of the film, you see a subway train whizzing by with the narrator reading the first email sent to Poitras from Snowden. The rest of the film transitions from shots of Snowden giving journalists information about the NSA to shots of encrypted instant messages that Snowden is sending to Poitras.
The film is a remarkable account of Snowden’s life while hiding from the U.S. government in Hong Kong. After contacting Poitras, Snowden gave her instructions to meet him in secret in Hong Kong. Accompanied by Poitras were two journalists working for The Guardian, Glenn Greenwald and Ewen Macaskill. These journalists listened to and recorded Snowden’s story and released the first stories to the media outlets.
Furthermore, the film highlights the intensive process the journalists endured to get the story out there. Greenwald and Macaskill not only reported several stories to media outlets about Snowden, but also appeared on news sources such as CNN. As you watch the film, you see the journalists hounded by the media and watch them face ethical decisions regarding their desire to protect Snowden while releasing the necessary information to the public.
Citizen Four also contains an emotional element: the situation of Snowden and his long-time girlfriend, Lindsay Mills. You see Snowden in the Hong Kong hotel room struggling with his decision to leave the country without telling his girlfriend anything. As you watch, you being to imagine the pain, hurt and confusion Mills must be going through.
Perhaps the best part of the film was the Skype conversation that I, along with the rest of the audience, had with Poitras. This conversation was facilitated by the directors of the True/False Film Festival and was an incredible experience.
So what did Poitras have to say? As she sat in a dimly lit hotel room, she informed the audience that more reporting on Snowden was to come. She, along with other journalists, is putting together more stories to release to the public. However, Poitras would not elaborate on the details of those stories or when they would come out.
Poitras explained that the reason she named the film "CITIZENFOUR" was because that was the name under which Snowden contacted her. At the time of initial contact, Poitras did not know it was Snowden contacting her, other than his code name CITIZENFOUR and that he had evidence of the U.S. government spying on millions of Americans. However, Snowden knew who Poitras was because she had been under the U.S. government’s surveillance for nearly two years. During these two years, Poitras had already been making a film on surveillance, and was therefore stopped by border control at airports numerous times to be questioned about the content of her films.
Poitras currently resides in Europe because she said her lawyers advised her that it would not be wise to enter the U.S. This is partially to protect the content of her films and partially for her personal safety.
As for Snowden, he currently resides in Moscow with his long-time girlfriend Lindsay Mills, who moved there in July to be with him.
"CITIZENFOUR" is currently playing at Ragtag Cinema in Columbia and is the third film in a post-911 America trilogy. I highly encourage you to see this informative and eye-opening story.
According to citizenfourfilm.com, “'CITIZENFOUR' not only shows you the dangers of government surveillance — it makes you feel them. After seeing the film, you will never think the same way about your phone, email, credit card, web browser, or profile, ever again.”
