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'It is a true rabbit hole': 'Enemies of the State' explores story of Anonymous hacker, alleged Wikileaks courier who sought refuge in Canada

'Enemies of the State' (Courtesy of TIFF)

Matt DeHart can be described as a U.S. military veteran, Anonymous hacker and alleged Wikileaks courier, who has been charged with solicitation of child pornography. Needless to say, his story is far from straightforward and is explored in great detail in the new documentary Enemies of the State, included in this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

“I’ve known about the Matt DeHart story at the centre of this film for a long time,” director Sonia Kennebeck told Yahoo Canada. “When I first heard about the story I was immediately captivated and interested.”

Enemies of the State tracks the story of Matt and his family, who sought refuge in Canada after claiming that U.S. government fabricated child pornography charges to cover up an espionage investigation against Matt, related to being a member of Anonymous and for receiving classified documents bound for Wikileaks. Matt claims he was tortured during his 21 months in prison.

Paul DeHart, Matt’s father, is a former Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Air Force who also worked for the NSA. Matt’s mother, Leann, served as “Electronic Warfare Voice Intercept Operator” in the U.S. Army.

“I started digging and it is a true rabbit hole,” Kennebeck said. “The story is so complicated and there's so many different perspectives.”

“My director of photography, Torsten Lapp, and I...came out of the interviews and we were discussing how the information we were receiving was just so contradicting to other interviews we have been doing.”

Guy Fawkes masks, often associated with the hacker group Anonymous, are displayed in a section about hacking at Spyscape in New York, Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Guy Fawkes masks, often associated with the hacker group Anonymous, are displayed in a section about hacking at Spyscape in New York, Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

‘The truth is rarely pure and never simple’ — Oscar Wilde

It’s that contradictory information from Matt, his parents, lawyers and police detectives in Enemies of the State that grabs you and brings you into this complicated investigation, with no clear heroine in sight.

“Maybe it's because of the...fiction films we see, we're always looking for kind of a simple story, but this is a documentary,” Kennebeck said. “I do start the film with a quote by Oscar Wilde, ‘The truth is rarely pure and never simple’ and this is a documentary...about reality and it's a film about human behaviour, and the human condition overall, I think, and the nature of truth and seeking it.”

“What was important to me is to show the different facets of this story, and all the contradictions and all the secrets that come with it, to really present a full picture and also an investigation to the audience.”

The filmmaker’s approach to Enemies of the State involved extensive research, constantly re-evaluating evidence amongst the team, including court records, filing Freedom of Information Act requests and even filing their own court motion to get access to sealed documents.

“What was really important for me is to get as much hard evidence as possible,” she explained. “We really went through hundreds and hundreds of pages of existing documents, audio recordings, everything that was out there to piece together this puzzle.”

The DeHart family has been quite open as the case was developing, both to Kennebeck and other journalists, trying to get Matt’s story heard.

“I think they are very complex people,” the filmmaker said. “On the one hand they are very active and trying to get their story out there, on the other hand they are also just extremely careful and cautious.”

Kennebeck highlights how Adrian Humphreys, an investigative journalist with the National Post who has written about the case extensively and is featured in the film, does well in remaining “very aware” of the “twist or the spin” that Matt puts on his own story.

“To the same extent that the government representatives are putting spins on their story,” Kennebeck said.

“For me as an investigative journalist and filmmaker, it has these deeper layers and commentary on how we should approach a story with an open mind, how we should interview people with different perspectives and really kind of see and listen and use our own critical thinking.”

‘I think the government is keeping too much information secret’

While Enemies of the State is now out in the world, Kennebeck said the investigation hasn’t ended.

“I think there are still too many secrets in this story,” she said. “Overall in the work that I'm doing...around national security and whistleblowers and so on, I think the government is keeping too much information secret.”

“That's where we are continuing to push on multiple levels, to push the government to release more information.”

Specifically related to Matt’s case, the filmmaker has tried multiple times to get access to FBI documents and secure an interviews with both the FBI and the National Guard.

“I would be very, very interested to hear their perspective,” she said.

For Kennebeck, Enemies of the State moves beyond an investigation and she sees it as a commentary on a world where there is so much information at our fingertips.

“We have so much information circling and it's so difficult to find the source of information that's out there,” she said. “People don't know what to trust anymore, or they trust information that is very unreliable.”

“We are living in this time, especially during the pandemic, where I think people are just more and more confused...This is a film about one particular case but it's also a film about finding the truth.”

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) takes place from Sept. 10 to Sept. 19. Information on screenings and tickets at tiff.net.