We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists

“Watch the fuck out.” That simple, blunt warning is uttered by one of the many talking heads—or perhaps it was one of the talking Guy Fawkes masks—in this doc about the notorious hacker group Anonymous, and it is essentially the film’s take-home message. Namely, if you try to censor the Internet, get caught being a unconscionable hypocrite, or happen to lead a repressive regime in the midst of a democratic uprising, a swarm of angry, resourceful computer geeks will soon make your life miserable. Director Brian Knappenberger briskly traces the evolution of the Anonymous movement from a group of flippant provocateurs on the anything-goes message boards of 4Chan to champions of freedom who challenged the Church of Scientology, helped facilitate the Arab Spring, and “scared the shit out of the powers that be.” Anonymous is many things to many people, but enough key members and experts are interviewed here that the movie deftly encapsulates who the hacktivists are and what they stand for. (NR) KEEGAN HAMILTON

Fri., Nov. 16, 6 & 8 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 17, 8 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 18, 3 & 7 p.m., 2012