Citizenfour (Documentary)

Citizenfour is a 2014 documentary film directed by Laura Poitras, centered on Edward Snowden’s disclosures. The film premiered in Türkiye for the first time on 24 April 2015 and is a co-production of the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. The production involved Praxis Films, Participant and HBO Documentary Films.

Subject

The documentary documents the secret and unlawful surveillance activities carried out by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) in collaboration with intelligence agencies worldwide. In January 2013, director Laura Poitras began receiving encrypted emails from a source who contacted her under the pseudonym “CITIZENFOUR” and claimed to possess evidence of these programs. This individual would later be identified as Edward Snowden. Poitras traveled to Hong Kong with journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill to meet Snowden. The meetings were recorded on camera, and the film presents this process in documentary form.

Theme

The documentary revolves around themes such as privacy, state surveillance, individual freedoms, access to information and journalistic ethics. It examines how the violation of individuals’ private lives and the balance of power within democratic societies can be questioned through media.

Figures Featured in the Documentary

• Edward Snowden
• Glenn Greenwald
• Laura Poitras
• William Binney
• Jacob Appelbaum
• Ewen MacAskill
• Jeremy Scahill
• Margaret McKeown
• Kevin Bankston
• Harry Pregerson

Awards and Nominations

Citizenfour has won a total of 44 awards and received over 40 nominations. Notable awards include:

• 2015 Academy Award, Best Documentary (Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky)
• 2015 BAFTA Award, Best Documentary
• 2015 DGA Award, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary (Laura Poitras)
• 2015 Film Independent Spirit Award, Best Documentary
• 2015 Primetime Emmy Award, Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special
• 2014 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, Best Documentary
• 2014 New York Film Critics Circle Award, Best Non-Fiction Film
• 2015 Cinema Eye Honors, Outstanding Achievement in Direction, Editing and Production

The documentary also received numerous nominations at international film festivals and was honored with awards from various critics’ associations.

Box Office

During its opening weekend, the documentary earned $126,321 in the United States and Canada. Its total gross in these regions amounted to $2,800,870, while its worldwide gross reached $3,780,692.

Significance of the Documentary

Citizenfour is a direct and documented account of Edward Snowden’s disclosure of NSA documents. The film provides concrete examples of how governments use technology to monitor individuals’ private lives.

The documentary occupies a central place in discussions about the relationship between cinema and journalism, and the societal impact of documentary filmmaking. Director Laura Poitras filmed the process as Snowden’s disclosures unfolded; this characteristic is decisive both in terms of the film’s content and its production process.