The Centre for Investigative Journalism
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Sonia Kennebeck

Sonia Kennebeck is an independent documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist with more than 15 years of directing and producing experience. She has directed eight television documentaries and more than 50 investigative reports. National Bird, her first feature-length film, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival 2016 and was also selected for Tribeca, Sheffield, and IDFA. Foreign Policy magazine recognised Sonia as one of the 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2016, and she was also selected as one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film 2016 by Filmmaker Magazine.

In March 2017, National Bird received the prestigious Ridenhour Documentary Film Prize that is awarded to one documentary a year “that defends the public interest, advances or promotes social justice, or illuminates a more just vision of society.” Sonia received a master’s degree in international affairs from American University in Washington, D.C.

She was born in Malacca, Malaysia, and lives in New York, NY.

Source Protection Programme Event
 — Masterclass

Investigative film-making and opsec with Sonia Kennebeck

(90 mins) 18:00 BST / 13:00 EST This masterclass explores how operational and digital security work in the documentary and investigative film-making field. When you need to get on the ground to record footage, or record interviews in person for broadcast, it can add layers of complexity to some elements of source protection.
Symposium Event

National Bird

National Bird follows the harrowing journey of three U.S. military veteran whistleblowers determined to break the silence surrounding America’s secret drone war. Tortured by guilt for their participation in the killing of faceless terror suspects, and despite the threat of being prosecuted, these three veterans offer an unprecedented look inside this secret program to reveal the haunting cost of America’s global drone strikes.