Citizenfour

Citizenfour is a fascinating documentary that offers an in-depth insight into the espionage master Edward Snowdon. Documentarian Laura Poitras began receiving encrypted emails from the enigmatic “CITIZENFOUR” in January 2013. This anonymous sender claimed that they had evidence that NSA, as well as various other international intelligence organisations, had been carrying out illegal undercover surveillance programs.

Poitras was already working on a film about American monitoring programs as a result of 9/11 and this offer of information caught her interest. Five months after the first email, Poitras flew out to Hong Kong with reporters Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill to meet the man behind the emails, who turned out to be Edward Snowdon. The two met many times and each meeting was filmed, creating a detailed documentary of recent history.

The film is both fascinating and unsettling. Dubbed by critics as a ‘real-life thriller’, this documentary offers a chilling detached examination of the 21st century world. The result is a sobering exposé of the betrayal of civil liberties.

Poitras maps Snowdon’s release of classified information over 16 months. Through her camera lens, Snowdon is vindicated and portrayed as a pioneering journalist. But Poitras’s documentary leaves several questions regarding Snowdon unanswered, suggesting that this period of investigation into international surveillance is far from over.

Jess Walker