Verax (film)

The film has four parts. The first depicts Central Intelligence Agency employees discussing the Snowden case. The second involves a newspaper journalist corresponding with Snowden. The third involves Hong Kong police officers and Chinese Ministry of State Security employees discussing and trying to find Edward Snowden. The end of the film includes extracts of Snowden's interview with The Guardian. The final captions state that Snowden departed Hong Kong on 23 June. The film features The Mira, the Hong Kong hotel where Snowden stayed. A Rubik's Cube, an item which, according to the Agence France-Presse, "Snowden reportedly used to identify himself to a Guardian journalist," is featured in the film. ==Conception and motives==

The film was created by expatriates from Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United States. and the sole professional filmmaker involved, served as the editor and cinematographer. "We tried to give Hong Kong the limelight we think it deserves." Lee described the film as a "snapshot in time" and said that "When Snowden popped up in Hong Kong he got so much attention that it really got people talking. We wanted to give an alternative view on the situation, beyond the media chase for where he was and what he knew." Cassandra Chan, who served as the associate producer, said "The US government has abused the internet, so our response is to use the power of the internet, for hopefully good reasons." Dean Napolitano of The Wall Street Journal wrote that the film "makes subtle observations about Hong Kong's sometimes tense relationship with mainland China and the "one country, two systems" policy – underscored in a scene where a security official from China's central government barks orders to Hong Kong police officers." During the aforementioned scene, the official from the Mainland speaks Mandarin while the Hong Kong officials speak Cantonese. According to Napolitano, the film implies that the Chinese authorities have the real power in Hong Kong. Lee stated that the scene was "vehicle to represent (Hong Kong's) relationship with China" and, as paraphrased by Alexis Lai of CNN, "the murkiness of Beijing's role in the Snowden affair." In regards to the scene, Lee said "To say China wasn't pulling any strings at all would be naïve ... Even though it gives us autonomy, it's always Beijing that calls the shots." Officially officials from the Mainland government said that they did not influence the decisions of the Hong Kong authorities. By 1 July 2013 Edwin Lee said that because Snowden left Hong Kong, there are no plans to write a sequel. By 29 July 2013, the filmmakers had plans to show their film at film festivals, and considered making a sequel. ==Filming and monetary costs==

The film was shot in three, or four days. At the time of shooting, Snowden was hiding within Hong Kong. The film used original photography with the exception of two stock photography shots purchased from Pond5. A one-night stay at The Mira was the most expensive single item in the budget, said that he lost money on the film. Dean Napolitano of The Wall Street Journal wrote that "The film is not quite a "Saturday Night Live"-style spoof, but neither is it a slick thriller given its cast of non-actors and micro budget." Rebecca Keegan of the Los Angeles Times stated that Verax "feels quite polished for an insta-film" due to the presence of electronic music soundtrack that she likens to the soundtrack of The Social Network, the "sweeping views of Hong Kong skyscrapers" and the shots within The Mira Hotel. Keegan added that "the actors' leaden delivery sometimes gives their neophyte status away." Patrick Frater of Variety said that the film had "strong production values, driving music and somewhat more amateurish acting performances." Alexis Lai of CNN said that the film "is surprisingly suspenseful and sophisticated, with gorgeous time-lapse panoramas of the city and "shaky cam" shots reminiscent of Hollywood." ==Cast==

The cast of the film consisted of friends of the four filmmakers. Dean Napolitano of The Wall Street Journal said that the cast had "varying degrees of thespian abilities". The filmmakers had reviewed any friends of theirs who they believed "remotely" appeared similar to Snowden. • Edward Snowden – Andrew Cromeek • Central Intelligence Agency Station Chief Carl Hamilton – Thomas Easterling • CIA Analyst Owen Fielding – Gabe Ostley • CIA Operations Manager – Robert Hinson • Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) Security Wing officer Tsang Tak-long – Edwin Chin • HKPF Security Wing officer Vincent Lee – Justin Lau • HKPF Security Wing officer Vanessa Wu – Cindy Wong • Chinese Ministry of State Security Attaché Han Wei – Simon Zeng Hao • Lecia Lau, reporter at The South China Sentinel – Shi Yi Ng • Wu Xingwei, editor of The South China Sentinel – Guo Aibing ==Release and reception==

The film was released on YouTube on Tuesday 25 June 2013. Jin Jiabao of China Central Television said that the film's events were "vividly portrayed". The cast of the television program New Day said "We hope [Andrew Cromeek] and the rest of the cast are better at their real jobs." In regards to the criticism, Andrew Cromeek argued that the filmmakers did not expect to gain a large amount of attention on YouTube and that the filmmakers were not professional. Cromeek said "I think the way it was shot was quite cool. We are all amateur actors. We all had one take. It was kind of like, shoot, go, OK, done. So it's fine. It's completely OK if people are like, 'It's the worst acting in the world.' It's totally fine with me." Ip wrote that Verax "is a source of pride for the friends who made it, even as they acknowledge its limitations." ==References==