ISTANBUL
The documentary on former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations has won an Oscar for best documentary Sunday night at the 87th Academy Awards.
"Citizenfour," the title of the documentary in reference to the name used by Snowden when he contacted American documentary director Laura Poitras in 2013, chronicles the revelations, and their consequences worldwide, made by the former National Security Agency, or NSA, contractor, namely to journalist Alan Greenwald, at a Hong Kong hotel.
Laura Poitras accepted the award alongside journalist Glenn Greenwald and Snowden’s girlfriend Lindsay Mills.
“The disclosures that Edward Snowden reveals don’t only expose a threat to our privacy but to our democracy itself,” said Poitras: “When the most important decisions being made affecting all of us are made in secret we lose our ability to check the powers and control.”
Poitras, who edited the documentary in Berlin to prevent any seizing of recordings by American intelligence, thanked Snowden for his “courage.”
She also thanked Greenwald and other “journalists who are exposing the truth,” and received a sustained applausefrom the audience at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.
Whistleblower Edward Snowden, who lives in Russia after being granted asylum, provided the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents him, with the following statement following the Oscar win:
“When Laura Poitras asked me if she could film our encounters, I was extremely reluctant," the statement reads. "I’m grateful that I allowed her to persuade me. The result is a brave and brilliant film that deserves the honor and recognition it has received. My hope is that this award will encourage more people to see the film and be inspired by its message that ordinary citizens, working together, can change the world.”
Snowden, 31, exposed mass global illegal surveillance activities employed by the U.S.' National Security Agency and the UK's GCHQ communications monitoring center.
Snowden is wanted in the U.S. for “espionage, theft and conversion of government property.”
"Birdman" led the 87th annual Academy Awards with four Oscars, including the top prize of Best Picture.
The thematically rich showbiz satire, directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu, also took home best original screenplay, best director and best cinematography honors.
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