CWU To Host Julian Assange’s Father and Brother for Film Screening and Q&A

Central Washington University will host the father and brother of internationally renowned activist and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for a screening of their new film, "Ithaka," in the SURC Theatre on Thursday, April 13 from 5:30-9 p.m. John and Gabriel Shipton will be available for a faculty-moderated Q&A session after the film.

"Ithaka," produced by Assange's brother, Gabriel Shipton, follows John Shipton's campaign to save his son from extradition to the U.S. Assange was indicted in 2019 for 17 violations of the Espionage Act for his alleged role in obtaining and publishing secret military and diplomatic documents in 2010. The film, released in July 2022, uses archival and behind-the-scenes footage to tell the story of the 76-year-old's personal struggle for justice.

CWU Department of Communication Chair Dr. Francesco Somaini, who is coordinating Thursday's screening, says the subject matter is very pertinent to the ongoing social and political climate.

"The topics, such as issues of press freedom versus national security, media ethics, international law, international relations, the war in Iraq, meddling in the U.S. elections, and more, are relevant to all CWU students-not only those pursuing programs in communication, journalism, law and justice, and political science-most of whom were just children when the first Wikileaks stories broke," Somaini said. "They are more or less familiar with the controversies surrounding the organization and its founder which, nevertheless, have been historically consequential even in recent times."

The screening is sponsored by CWU SLICE, the Department of Communication, the College of Arts and Humanities, and the College of the sciences. The free event is open to the public and tickets are not required.

If you have questions, email Somaini at Francesco.somaini@cwu.edu.