BRITFILMS #9 – Accompanying material for media education CITIZENFOUR USA/Germany 2014, 110 min. German certification: minimum age 0 recommended for 16 years and older Language: English with German subtitles Director Laura Poitras Script Laura Poitras Cinematography Laura Poitras, Kirsten Johnson, Katy Scoggin, Trevor Paglen Editing Mathilde Bonnefoy Music Nine Inch Nails With Glenn Greenwald, William Binney, Edward Snowden, Jacob Appelbaum, Ewen MacAskill and others About CITIZENFOUR Since 2011 journalist and director Laura Poitras had been working on a documentary film about surveillance. In 2013 an informant anonymously contacted her. He was looking for allies to help go public with inside information about the NSA. A few months later Poitras met the 29-year-old in Hong Kong. She met the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. His concern about the widespread illegal surveillance of US citizens prompted him to publicly expose the information. He knows that by identifying himself he risks his personal freedom. While journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill are evaluating Snowden’s secret files and write the stories that disclose the scandal, Snowden goes public as the whistle-blower and is forced to go underground. Laura Poitras stays true to the style of cinéma vérité in making this documentary, while remaining interested in Edward Snowden and his motives. A good part of the film is shot in a hotel room in Hong Kong during the interviews with Snowden, and despite the cramped quarters a certain sense of tension develops. Further scenes broaden the context and show courtrooms or editorial offices. At times CITIZENFOUR seems like a political thriller that not only seeks to entertain its audience but also to enlighten and encourage the viewer: privacy and freedom are inseparably linked, and are worth fighting for. The following worksheets will address How the film shows Edward Snowden in different roles What Snowden’s motives were and how he criticises the relationship between citizens and governments Which elements of cinéma vérité are evident in CITIZENFOUR and how the film visually illustrates its guiding theme of anonymity through shots of buildings Publishing information Publisher: AG Kino – Gilde deutscher Filmkunsttheater Rankestraße 31 10789 Berlin Author: Stefan Stiletto [email protected] Photo credits: Piffl Medien/Good Movies (All the stills are from the DVD of CITIZENFOUR, published in Germany by Piffl Medien/Good Movies. They serve as image quotations, to enable study of the film’s content, and not as illustrations.) Who is Edward Snowden? Edward Snowden is shown in different roles. Comment on the following: Whistle-blower/ Informant Spy/ Traitor Citizen Hero Discuss with the class how you see him. Citizens and Government I think it is powerful to come out and be like: Look: I am not afraid. And I don’t think other people should either. I was sitting in the office right next to you last week. We all have a stake in this. This is our country. And the balance of power between the citizenry and the government is becoming that of the ruling and the ruled as opposed to the elected and the elector. Edward Snowden Using this Snowden quote from CITIZENFOUR, explain what it asks of people. What kind of relationship between citizens and the government does he advocate? _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ In this context, think about the cover name –‘citizenfour’– used by Snowden to contact Laura Poitras. How does he see himself? What role would he like to emphasise with this? _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ Discuss together with the class: How do you perceive the relationship between citizens and the government in Germany? CITIZENFOUR as Cinéma Vérité In interviews the director Laura Poitras repeatedly refers to the style of filmmaking known as cinéma vérité. Using examples from CITIZENFOUR, demonstrate which particularities of cinéma vérité can be found in this film. Particularities of cinema vérité In CITIZENFOUR There is no interaction between the filmmaker and the person depicted in the film The documentary work remains visible or is made visible The person depicted speaks for him or herself Developments are being observed The Whistle-blower and Journalists Explain the roles of the whistle-blower Edward Snowden, the journalist (and director of the film) Laura Poitras as well as the journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill in exposing the NSA scandal. The Whistle-blower The Journalists Poitras ↔ Greenwald and MacAskill Using a timeline show how the collaborative work took place. Continue the timeline into the present. What role would the film CITIZENFOUR have? What meaning does the exposure of the NSA’s invasive acts of surveillance have today? Spaces Laura Poitras often shows clips of buildings and rooms. Describe the lighting mood and the image composition of the following stills from CITIZENFOUR. Explain what theme from the film is being visually depicted here. 1 2 ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Admiration for security software In the credits Laura Poitras thanks the following projects without which the making of CITIZENFOUR wouldn’t have been possible: Tor Tails GNU Privacy Guard SecureDrop Off-the-Record Messaging Debian GNU/Linux Truecrypt In small groups chose one of these above projects and introduce it in a short presentation.
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