Disruption Network Lab are excited to welcome the visitors back to the first in-person event of 2021, a special outdoor screening of the new documentary ENEMIES OF THE STATE (US, 2020, 1h43m, directed by Sonia Kennebeck).

ENEMIES OF THE STATE is a documentary thriller that investigates the strange case of Matt DeHart, an alleged hacker and whistleblower, and his former Cold War spy parents who believe they are at the center of a government conspiracy and are ready to do anything to save their son from prison. This stranger-than-fiction story takes audiences on a wild ride of unexpected plot twists and bizarre discoveries in an artistic and cinematic documentary that blurs the line between reality and paranoia. With extraordinary access to all lead characters and key sources, this film presents many contradicting viewpoints as it attempts to solve a mystery that has kept attorneys, activists and journalists occupied for over a decade.

ENEMIES OF THE STATE is a timely and compelling media and legal case study, showing how conspiracies can be created, evolve, and then be perpetuated with the help of the internet and aided by lack of transparency by the government. At the same time, this film examines the transformation of a local criminal case to an international media story, and the trust – or blindness – of completely devoted parents who will protect their son, literally at all costs.

A powerful combination of investigative journalism and true crime story, ENEMIES OF THE STATE recreates dramatic events with the high production value and feel of a fiction film. The story is as twisted and complex as the Serial podcasts or Making a Murderer, with a beautiful and cinematic visual style comparable to The Imposter or The Thin Blue Line. Similar to these movies, ENEMIES OF THE STATE uses its unreliable narrators to play with the audience’s perception of reality, exposing the power of conviction and manipulation and the significance of seeking the truth.

Photo Courtesy of the organisation