The documentary “Citizenfour” won Oscar gold for best documentary feature on Sunday night.
The film chronicles the controversial figure at the center of the National Security Agency leaks, Edward Snowden.
“The disclosures that Edward Snowden reveals don’t only expose the threat to our privacy but to our democracy itself,” said Laura Poitras, director of “Citizenfour,” while accepting the award. “When the most important decisions being made effecting all of us are made in secret we lose our ability to check the powers that control.”
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Poitras thanked the former NSA contractor for his “courage” and shared the award with “other whistleblowers,” specifically “Glen Greenwald and other journalists who are exposing truth.”
Before moving on, Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris jabbed the star of the doc: “Edward Snowden could not be here tonight for some treason.”
Snowden’s currently holding up in Russia after leaking classified documents from the NSA.
“The Salt of the Earth,” “Last Days in Vietnam,” “Virunga” and “Finding Vivian Maier” were also nominated in the category.
Sarah Muller