From Edward Snowden to Julian Assange: Filmmaker Laura Poitras Takes On Another Renegade in ‘Risk’
"Citizenfour" director Poitras returns with "Risk," a film about WikiLeaks founder Assange, and becomes a target by association.
The first thing the viewer hears filmmaker Laura Poitras say in the trailer for her new documentary, “Risk,” is “This is not the film I thought I was making.”
It’s hard to imagine exactly what outcome Poitras had in mind, considering its subject is hardly predictable or uncomplicated: Her latest film is about WkiLeaks founder and international man of controversy, Julian Assange.
For her last project, Poitras tackled a similarly complex figure, former National Security Agency contractor-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden, in a way that worked for audiences, critics and Oscar voters alike — “Citizenfour” won the 2015 Academy Award for best documentary feature. So chances are good that Poitras is at least up to the task of capturing the character and story surrounding another of the world’s most influential and polarizing political rebels, visible to the whole world yet geographically immobilized.
From the trailer for “Risk,” though, it’s clear that those looking to watch a documentary entirely about Assange will also have to adjust their expectations. Though Poitras keeps the spoilers under wraps in her voice-over, she hints at how she also becomes a target because of her professional movements and associations. Apparently, she is again ready to go where the story takes her — take a look at the trailer below (NEON via YouTube):
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Opinion
For starters, negotiating a plea deal would help shore up flagging support on the left.
TD Original
The WikiLeaks founder will get a chance to appeal extradition if assurances aren't made.
Manning is facing more than $256,000 in fines, which have been accumulating at a rate of $1,000 a day.
Famous Britons join the crowd protesting U.S. espionage charges against the founder of WikiLeaks, the secret-spilling website.
The global security state, which is not bound by the rule of law, will target all who defy it.
In a blistering letter to the U.S. government, Special Rapporteur Nils Melzer condemns the whistleblower's indefinite imprisonment.
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