
“Citizenfour” Awarded Oscar for Best Documentary in 2014 - mxfh
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/02/laura-poitras-citizenfour-awarded-oscar-best-documentary-2014
======
rdl
Despite having been involved in the "cypherpunks" world for two decades, I
_never_ thought crypto, security, privacy, NSA, etc. would become such a mass
market issue that an Oscar-winning documentary would be created about it.

------
sqren
Getting nominated was fantastic but very few* believed the Academy would have
the guts to actually give them the Oscar. I'm very positively surprised.

*Edit: I stand corrected. It was clearly not the underdog I thought it was. I never checked the bookmakers so my comments are purely from a personal perspective of what people I've talked to believed. This doesn't change the fact that I'm positively surprised :)

~~~
aaronbrethorst
> very few believed the Academy would have the guts to actually give them the
> Oscar.

Citation needed

~~~
michaelbuddy
People sometimes talk about the academy as if it's not all the people there in
the audience. Like it's 20 other elitists behind closed doors trying to
control our hearts and minds. The academy has its admin staff but the voting
is done by the collective just like the nominations are. if it's nominated
it's a potential win. The result tonight tells me how annoyed even Hollywood
is with the current President on this topic.

~~~
icantthinkofone
You're thinking of the ratings board. The Academy consists of hundreds.
Politics in Hollywood is a cause that will win you awards just like gays,
race, AIDS/HIV, Africa and a multitude of other subjects.

~~~
dragonwriter
> Politics in Hollywood is a cause that will win you awards

Politics is not a cause. Politics is a domain, within which there are many
(often opposing) potential causes.

------
gonzo
Seeing Greenwald on stage was fantastic. I wonder how much hassle he and
Poitras had getting into the US.

~~~
michaelbuddy
I gotta say, Greenwald with all the good he does shining light on things,
really bothers me the way he misrepresents Sam Harris. He basically misleads
people on what Sam Harris says about Islam and it worries me that Greenwald
may be a little too loose with facts in other areas of his reporting.

~~~
logn
Here is a somewhat heated and very informative 3 hour interview in which
pundit Cenk Uygur talks to Sam Harris about these criticisms --
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVl3BJoEoAU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVl3BJoEoAU)

~~~
michaelbuddy
good share. saw that not long ago.

------
ChuckMcM
I'm glad they won the award. And yes I thought Neil Patrick Harris' comment
was more than a bit uncalled for. I also agree with rdl that it's amazing that
this has become such a durable national discussion.

~~~
hawkice
To provide context: Neil Patrick Harris made a joke that Edward Snowden
"couldn't be there for some treason".

I firmly believe all puns are uncalled for in America (except by dads, who
call for as many puns as possible). But sometimes we get the humor we deserve,
not the humor we ask for.

~~~
ChuckMcM
Joking about what is, or isn't treasonous, is to my way of thinking in just as
much poor taste as joking about sexual orientation or race.

I "get" the freedom of speech thing, there isn't any law against it, but I
dislike it because the topic of encryption and privacy are things I consider
important. Neil could have just as easily joked that Turing would still be
around if he had been a bit more discreet about his "tastes." And I would be
equally offended.

So when you have people who have put their liberty and their life on the line
for something they believe in, I think it is important for us to treat what
they did with respect and not make jokes about it.

~~~
slavik81
He started the awards with "Tonight we celebrate Hollywood’s best and
whitest". Clearly, you're going to find a lot of his humour to be in poor
taste.

~~~
joezydeco
All the jokes on award shows like the Oscars telecast are written by a room
full of comedy writers.

That opening joke was actually "Tonight we celebrate Hollywood's best and
whitest OOPS I MEAN brightest". Actually kind of a funny and relevant joke
given the current state of race in Hollywood. Chris Rock's recent interview is
a good read along those lines:

[http://www.vulture.com/2014/11/chris-rock-frank-rich-in-
conv...](http://www.vulture.com/2014/11/chris-rock-frank-rich-in-
conversation.html)

------
justcommenting
I was half expecting a Snowden acceptance speech via robot[0][1]

[0] [http://www.wired.com/2014/06/inside-edward-snowdens-life-
as-...](http://www.wired.com/2014/06/inside-edward-snowdens-life-as-a-robot/)

[1] [https://twitter.com/robotsnowden](https://twitter.com/robotsnowden)

~~~
saalweachter
Followed by the robot being arrested, err, indefinitely detained?

------
jkelsey
So, I'll ask the more cynical question -- how does this affect Ed Snowden's
chances of getting a pardon and being allowed to come home?

~~~
LLWM
He has to come back and face justice first. After he's found guilty, he can be
pardoned. He's too much of a coward to go that route though.

~~~
dragonwriter
Plenty of people have been pardoned without being charged, tried, or found
guilty; the most well-known example being Richard Nixon.

The idea that Snowden must first be found guilty in order to be pardoned is
simply false, the pardon power is plenary and has no such restriction.

~~~
LLWM
I'm not talking about legal requirements. I'm talking about taking
responsibility.

------
antidaily
Apparently that was Snowden's girlfriend to the right.

------
001sky
"For some (t)reason, the subject of this film couldn't be here tonight..."

~~~
sneak
Did anyone else find this joke to be in incredibly poor taste?

~~~
michaelbuddy
Comedy. That's how it is sometimes. I found it harsh but also a well done
joke. But remember, humor is about absurdity. Neil P Harris or his writers are
well aware of the absurdity of the situation. Doesn't mean they actually think
he's committed treason. These people are professionals but it's not beneath
them to take a potshot now and again even if it delivers with ambiguous
intent.

~~~
michaelbuddy
Also would like to point out Snowden himself thought it was funny. Quote:

"To be honest, I laughed at NPH. I don't think it was meant as a political
statement, but even if it was, that's not so bad. My perspective is if you're
not willing to be called a few names to help out your country, you don't care
enough.

"If this be treason, then let us make the most of it." [he linked this quote
to Patrick Henry on wikipedia]

~~~
throwawayaway
came here to say this :)

GSOH, he'll go far.

------
bmoresbest55
I do not know how any of the other films even had a chance. This was the clear
winner.

------
hunt
I really enjoyed this film, I felt it was good at being inclusive for people
without much technical knowledge.

------
cellover
I have uploaded the movie to my server, direct download, high speed:

[http://www.pilgrimbreak.com/citizenfour-hd-high-speed-
downlo...](http://www.pilgrimbreak.com/citizenfour-hd-high-speed-download/)

~~~
bainsfather
Do you have a link to some 'official' source saying that the movie is free?
(I'd like to copy it, but only with the creators' permission).

~~~
corford
[https://twitter.com/Cryptomeorg/status/566616227582582785](https://twitter.com/Cryptomeorg/status/566616227582582785)

Is that good enough (taken from further up in this thread)?

~~~
bainsfather
I don't know, is it? Myself, I was hoping for something more definitive.

Does it being presented as evidence in a US court mean I can freely copy it,
including if I am outside the US?

If the creators were freely releasing the film, then I would have expected
them to say so in some public announcement.

~~~
matthewmcg
Only the film's copyright holder can release it into the public domain. They
must do so by an overt act or statement that indicates the work is no longer
subject to copyright.

Merely submitting copies of the work to a court as part of a lawsuit doesn't
do this as there is no statement that copyright is relinquished. Quite the
opposite--copies of the film still bear a copyright notice.

------
euske
This is great. Now, how can I get to see this movie here in Tokyo? It doesn't
look like any screening is planned in Japan, and most people here don't seem
to care the issue.

~~~
giodamelio
You are probably going to have to pirate it. Despite it's importance, I
haven't seen it becoming very popular even in the US. It is mostly playing
alternative movie theaters, and not that often.

~~~
jtgeibel
It will be playing on HBO in the US Monday night. I for one am looking forward
to seeing it, and will probably show it to friends via HBO Go. However, I have
no idea if HBO will be showing it internationally.

------
sneak
[https://twitter.com/sneakatdatavibe/status/56970728370314444...](https://twitter.com/sneakatdatavibe/status/569707283703144448)

~~~
jimktrains2
Because this comment is nonsensical for not including the text:

Jeffrey Paul ‏@sneakatdatavibe

A first for the #oscars: being surprised the winner was willing to enter the
country to accept the award. #landofthefree

------
curiously
so where can I download this because there's no way to watch it or buy it.

~~~
wmt
You can watch it in a movie theater.
[http://www.moviefone.com/movie/citizenfour/20058402/showtime...](http://www.moviefone.com/movie/citizenfour/20058402/showtimes?mileValue=Unlimited&amenities=&selectedShowDate=&extended=true)

HBO is also showing it,
[http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/citizenfour](http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/citizenfour),
but if you just want to watch it without paying anything for it, there should
be illegal copies available through torrens.

~~~
newaccountfool
You can watch it for free, legally. They have released the film to the public.

[http://ergot.yfkm.eu/Citizenfour-HD.mp4](http://ergot.yfkm.eu/Citizenfour-
HD.mp4)

~~~
bainsfather
Do you have a link to a more 'official' announcement of this, please?

~~~
justinv
Entered in as public record as part of a lawsuit:
[https://twitter.com/Cryptomeorg/status/566616227582582785](https://twitter.com/Cryptomeorg/status/566616227582582785)

~~~
mariodiana
Excellent! Because I would hate to pay a nominal sum to people risking their
liberty, and perhaps even their very lives, to spread the word about
government abuses that threaten the future of not merely the 300-plus million
people living in this country but people from around the world, too. Can we
get more of this?

------
harkyns_castle
Hopefully some of the numbnuts in the US will get up and vote about it.

Hopefully some of the numbnuts in the AU will get up and vote about it.

Hopefully some of the numbnuts in the NZ will get up and vote about it. (Kia
Kaha)

Yes I understand its a downvote post. Just wondering what will change this
hellish situation.

