Secrecy (film)
Encyclopedia
Secrecy is a 2008 documentary film
directed by Harvard University
professors Peter Galison
and Robb Moss
. According to its website, it "is a film about the vast, invisible world of government secrecy," and features interviews with a variety of people on all sides of the secrecy issue, including Steven Aftergood
(of Federation of American Scientists
), Tom Blanton (of the National Security Archive
), James B. Bruce (who was a senior staff member to the Iraq Intelligence Commission
), Barton Gellman
(a Washington Post journalist), Melissa Boyle Mahle (a former CIA officer), the plaintiffs in United States v. Reynolds
(1953) (the case which established the State Secrets Privilege
in the United States), Siegfried Hecker (former director of Los Alamos National Laboratory
), Mike Levin (a former member of the National Security Agency
), and Neal Katyal
and Charles Swift
(the lawyers for the defendant in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
).
It competed in the Documentary Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
and at the Berlin Film Festival, among many other venues.
The film was the winner of the Special Jury Award for Documentary Features at the Independent Film Festival, Boston, and was named Best Documentary at the Newport International Film Festival
.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
professors Peter Galison
Peter Galison
Peter Louis Galison is the Pellegrino University Professor in History of Science and Physics at Harvard University.Galison received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in both Physics and the History of Science in 1983. His publications include Image and Logic: A Material Culture of Microphysics ...
and Robb Moss
Robb Moss
Robb Moss is an independent documentary filmmaker and professor at Harvard University. Notable work includes such films as The Same River Twice, Secrecy , and The Tourist...
. According to its website, it "is a film about the vast, invisible world of government secrecy," and features interviews with a variety of people on all sides of the secrecy issue, including Steven Aftergood
Steven Aftergood
Steven Aftergood is a critic of U.S. government secrecy policy. He directs the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy and is the author of the Federation newsletter Secrecy News. In 1991, Aftergood exposed the highly classifed Timber Wind program, an unacknowledged...
(of Federation of American Scientists
Federation of American Scientists
The Federation of American Scientists is a nonpartisan, 501 organization intent on using science and scientific analysis to attempt make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1945 by scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project to develop the first atomic bombs...
), Tom Blanton (of the National Security Archive
National Security Archive
The National Security Archive is a 501 non-governmental, non-profit research and archival institution located in the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.. Founded in 1985 by Scott Armstrong, it archives and publishes declassified U.S. government files concerning selected topics of US...
), James B. Bruce (who was a senior staff member to the Iraq Intelligence Commission
Iraq Intelligence Commission
The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction is a panel created by Executive Order 13328 signed by U.S. President George W. Bush in February 2004...
), Barton Gellman
Barton Gellman
Barton David Gellman is a Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist, blogger and bestselling author.-Career:After 21 years on the staff of The Washington Post, Gellman resigned in February 2010 to concentrate on book and magazine writing...
(a Washington Post journalist), Melissa Boyle Mahle (a former CIA officer), the plaintiffs in United States v. Reynolds
United States v. Reynolds
United States v. Reynolds, , is a landmark legal case in 1953 that saw the formal recognition of State Secrets Privilege, a judicially recognized extension of presidential power.- Overview :...
(1953) (the case which established the State Secrets Privilege
State Secrets Privilege
The state secrets privilege is an evidentiary rule created by United States legal precedent. Application of the privilege results in exclusion of evidence from a legal case based solely on affidavits submitted by the government stating that court proceedings might disclose sensitive information...
in the United States), Siegfried Hecker (former director of Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
), Mike Levin (a former member of the National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
), and Neal Katyal
Neal Katyal
Neal Kumar Katyal is an American lawyer and chaired professor of law. He served as Acting Solicitor General of the United States from May 2010 until June 2011. As Acting Solicitor General, Katyal succeeded Elena Kagan, who was President Barack Obama's choice to replace the retiring Associate...
and Charles Swift
Charles Swift
Charles D. Swift is a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy, Judge Advocate General's Corps and Visiting Associate Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law. During the course of his Navy career, he was assigned to the Department of Defense Office of Military Commissions. He is...
(the lawyers for the defendant in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557 , is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that military commissions set up by the Bush administration to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay lack "the power to proceed because its structures and procedures violate both the Uniform Code of Military...
).
It competed in the Documentary Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
2008 Sundance Film Festival
The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was In Bruges and the closing night film was CSNY Déjà Vu.-Films:...
and at the Berlin Film Festival, among many other venues.
The film was the winner of the Special Jury Award for Documentary Features at the Independent Film Festival, Boston, and was named Best Documentary at the Newport International Film Festival
Newport International Film Festival
Newport International Film Festival was an annual film festival in Newport, Rhode Island, established in 1998 .The Newport Film Festival was generally held the first week in June and featured various international films at several local cinemas...
.