OFFICIAL SECRETS

PAST FILM SCREENING

February 5 – 2PM + 7:30PM

UK/USA, 2019 – Rated: PG – 112 minutes
English
Directed by Gavin Hood
Cast: Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, Ralph Fiennes

Official Secrets recalls the prosecution of real-life whistle-blower Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley, Colette,The Imitation Game), a story that might otherwise be a footnote in the campaign that led to the March 2003 inva­sion of Iraq by British and American troops. The film offers a behind-the-scenes account of events from the perspectives of Gun and the journalists and lawyers that warn of the perilous state of democracy at times of war.

Gun was a young translator at the United Kingdom’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). George W. Bush, President of the United States, and Tony Blair, UK Prime Minister, were doing everything in their power to secure a United Nations resolu­tion to sanction war. As part of that effort, the US’s National Security Agency sent a memo to GCHQ with an order to gather information on diplomats from certain nations so they could fix the UN vote and protect themselves from being charged with any unlawful acts.

Gun is reluctant to follow the order, know­ing that the case for war has yet to be proven. Weighed down by her conscience, she risks everything and leaks the memo in the hopes of stopping the war — but no one can stand in its way. Did Katharine break the law? Did she violate the UK’s Official Secrets Act? Is she a traitor? These are the motivating questions from here on out. Directed by Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, winner of the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film) and stacked with a who’s who of British acting heavy­weights, Official Secrets is an examination of the meaning, value, and act of loyalty.

“A sturdy, entertaining political thriller that pushes all the right buttons and triggers all the right out­raged reactions.”
—Tim Grierson, Screen Daily