Verax (short film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Verax |
| Country of production | Hong Kong |
| original language |
English Chinese |
| Publishing year | 2013 |
| length | 5 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Jeff Floro Edwin Lee Shawn Tse Marcus Tsui |
| script | Edwin Lee Marcus Tsui |
| production | Jeff Floro Edwin Lee Shawn Tse Marcus Tsui |
| music | Gareth Coker Thomas Vo |
| camera | Jeff Floro Edwin Lee |
| cut | Edwin Lee |
| occupation | |
| |
Verax ( Latin : true or truth) is a five-minute short film that describes the time spent by the US whistleblower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong . It was shot by the group J.Shot Videos and published on the video platform YouTube in June 2013 . The term "Verax" is the code name Snowden used during his revelations about the surveillance and espionage affair in 2013 by the USA .
action
The CIA, Hong Kong subsidiary, was in a meeting when one of the CIA employees announced that an NSA employee from Hawaii had landed in Hong Kong. Since he has not indicated his travel plans in advance, he is suspect. The records identify him as a former CIA employee who later joined the NSA and ended up working for Booz Allen Hamilton in Kunia , Hawaii . It is decided to inform the head of the CIA about the case and ask him the next steps. Meanwhile, at the Hotel Mira in Hong Kong, Edward Snowden made contact with the South China Sentinel journalist Lecia Lau via the Internet and offered her an exclusive report on illegal surveillance methods, among other things. The journalist contacts her supervisor, who thinks the story is nonsense and refuses to report.
Edward Snowden waits in vain for a response to his inquiries. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong police on behalf of the Chinese State Ministry of Security are trying to find the source behind Verax before the whistleblower can be caught by the Americans. Snowden records a video at his hotel stating that any information he has presented to the public is true, but that he will not rate the information as good or bad. This is reserved for the public. His video is seen by the editorial staff of the South China Sentinel and by employees of the CIA, among others. The credits inform that Snowden left Hong Kong for Moscow while filming.
production
Verax was filmed in Hong Kong in less than a week. A hand-held camera was used as equipment, and the filming locations were original locations in Hong Kong. Edwin Lee, who worked with friends among other things as a director and screenwriter, was the only member of the cast with knowledge of the film business: He produced Verax with his small film production company Fallout Media. The character of Edward Snowden is portrayed in the film by the American teacher Andrew Cromeek, who, however, did not have a speaking role in Verax . For the overall film, Snowden played only a subordinate role as a person, as the filmmakers hardly knew anything about him. More central was Snowden's influence on various interest groups - journalists, the CIA and the Hong Kong police.
The Snowden video at the end of the short film is the real video that Snowden posted. The production, in which amateur actors from Ireland, Australia, Canada and the USA were involved, cost around 500 euros. According to their own statements, the filmmakers only lost money with Verax .
Web links
- Fallout Media (English)
- Verax in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Verax , accessed July 17, 2013 from YouTube.
- ↑ Amateur filmmakers make a film about Snowden ( Memento from July 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Die Presse , June 30, 2013 in diepresse.com
- ↑ a b Short thriller from Hong Kong: Edward Snowden, the film . Der Spiegel (spiegel-online.de), June 30, 2013.
- ^ The Edward Snowden Movie By Hong Kong Filmmakers International Business Times . Retrieved July 17, 2013 from ibtimes.com (English)
- ↑ "Verax". Short film shows Snowden's time in Hong Kong ( Memento from August 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). stern.de , July 5, 2013; Retrieved July 17, 2013.