Citizenfour (2014, documentary, dir: Laura Poitras)
Winner, Oscar for Best Documentary

Wednesday, March 29, 8 pm
The Film House
250 St. Paul St. W., St. Catharines

Brock University’s Department of Political Science invites you to a screening and discussion of Citizenfour, the final film in our 2016-17 Politics and Film series. Laura Poitras’ award-winning documentary takes us behind the scenes of Edward Snowden’s 2013 revelations that the United States government was, and continues to, engage in constant global surveillance of all online activity. These revelations caused an international uproar that continue to reverberate to this day. 

This award-winning documentary raises critical questions about the far-reaching effects of ubiquitous state surveillance, and the threat it poses to individuals’ private lives and democracy itself. With US and Canadian border officials increasingly demanding that travelers turn over their social-media passwords, the problems posed by government surveillance are only beginning to be fully understood.

The screening will be followed by a discussion and audience Q&A with Karen Louise Smith, Assistant Professor of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, and an expert in the implications of digital privacy in the everyday lives of citizens. She will discuss the data trails we each leave behind, across physical and digital spaces.  

Citizenfour is presented in conjunction with the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Film House. Tickets are $9 (general admission) and $7 for Film House members. Tickets can be bought online or by calling the box office at 905-688-0722. Tickets are also available the day of show.

For further information, please contact Blayne Haggart (bhaggart@brocku.ca).