Citizenfour

Directed by: Laura Poitras

2014 | Germany / USA | 1hr 54min

“In January 2013, Laura Poitras (recipient of the 2012 MacArthur Genius Fellowship) was several years into making a film about surveillance in the post-9/11 era when she started receiving encrypted e-mails from someone identifying himself as “citizen four,” who was ready to blow the whistle on the massive covert surveillance programs run by the NSA and other intelligence agencies. In June 2013 she flew to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with the man who turned out to be Edward Snowden. She brought her camera with her. The film that resulted from this series of tense encounters is absolutely sui generis in the history of cinema: a 100% real-life thriller unfolding minute by minute before our eyes. Produced by Steven Soderbergh.” Radius.

Nominee, Best Documentary, Gotham Awards 2014