CITIZENFOUR is a real-time thriller, giving audiences an exclusive front-row seat to the moment Edward Snowden changed history with his revelations of widespread government surveillance around the world.
In June 2013, filmmaker Laura Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald met with Snowden confidentially in Hong Kong, where he handed over classified documents providing evidence of mass indiscriminate and illegal invasions of privacy by the National Security Agency (NSA). As the story breaks, they are forced to manage the raging media storm around them, and find their personal security and that of their loved ones under threat.
CITIZENFOUR not only shows you the dangers of governmental 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.
Edward Snowden never leaked the NSA documents for fame or wealth. Snowden’s motivation for whistleblowing was in service to the public interest. As he said, “…and hopefully when I’m gone, whatever they do to me, there will be someone else who will do the same thing. It will be the sort of the internet principle of the hydra. You know, you can stomp on one person, but there is going to be seven more of us.”
