Sioux Falls, SD - Was NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden a hero? A patriot? A traitor? A dissident? Film fans can draw their own conclusions when Cinema Falls presents the Laura Poitras filmed, edited and produced CITIZENFOUR, the story of the man who returned "Big Brother" to our collective vocabulary. Considered by many critics as the most important documentary of our century and a shoe-in for an Oscar® nomination, the film is slated to kick off the Cinema Falls season this Sunday, January 11th at the West Mall 7 Theatres for a 2PM matinee.
In June of 2013, US journalist and documentarian Laura Poitras began receiving encrypted emails from someone who claimed they had information on the government's surveillance programs. Poitras teamed up with journalist Glenn Greenwald and together they flew to Hong Kong to meet Snowden, and make his revelations public. Footage shot on this trip formed the foundations of a film that seeks an intimate look at Snowden, as well as a perspective on the grander scale of the implications of the NSA programs and the trove of documents he revealed.
"This documentary is a real life espionage thriller in the vein of the 'Bourne' films," says Julie Anderson Friesen, Cinema Falls founder. "It's definitely a film for our time addressing issues about freedom and privacy, and within days of our screening it will likely be named an Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Feature by the Academy." According to the Cinema Falls founder, the matinee slot was selected so film fans wouldn't miss the evening's Golden Globe awards.
CITIZENFOUR was recently crowned Best Feature Documentary of 2014 by the International Documentary Association (IDA), has a Spirit Award nomination for Best Documentary, and a Broadast Film Critic's Choice Award nomination along with a lengthy list of nominations and wins on the film festival circuit. The film kicks off the Spring 2015 Season for Cinema Falls which was founded in February of 2012. Season subscriptions have tripled since that time, and both individual tickets and season passes may still be purchased.
Rated R with a TRT of 1 hr, 54 minutes. Tickets can be found at www.CinemaFalls.com with no guarantee that tickets will be available at the door. A ticket counter on the ticketing site indicates up to the minute availability. Doors open at 2pm with film start at 2:30pm at the West Mall 7 Theatres.