The intense and unsettling documentary “My NDA” left me with this lingering anger, and that’s precisely the point. The film follows three people who are legally gagged by non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), but they decide to speak out anyway despite the huge personal risk. These aren’t just boring legal contracts, but agreements that are increasingly being weaponized to silence people as a means of covering up everything from corporate misconduct to sexual assault and racial discrimination.
What makes it so gripping is that the participants literally can’t even admit they signed an NDA without risking their lives, careers, and finances. Directors Juliane Dressner and Miriam Shor do an excellent job of capturing that tension, blending intimate, observational footage with archival clips and interviews with major media journalists. The result is a clear picture of how systemic and pervasive this culture of enforced silence really is.
The film can feel a bit repetitive, especially as the “don’t talk about NDAs” rule comes up again and again, but that repetition actually drives home how suffocating these contracts are. You really feel the psychological toll of being silenced as well as the courage it takes to reclaim your own voice. The ethical stakes are fascinating too. How do you tell a story about secrecy when your subjects are forbidden from speaking? Every scene carries that quiet, almost unbearable tension that someone is going to slip up at any minute, and their lives taken away.
Watching the participants finally speak and break the silence that has been forced upon them is surprisingly moving. There’s fear, doubt, courage, and relief all mixed together, and you can’t help but feel invested in their stories. At the same time, you’re left thinking about all the people who aren’t able (or willing) to take that risk. The film makes it impossible not to consider how normalized it has become to take away someone’s right to talk about their own life. It also explores who benefits from that culture of silence.
With its story about power, control, and justice, “My NDA” left me outraged, shocked, and more than a little shaken. It’s the type of documentary that’s so eye-opening that it feels like urgent and essential viewing, and I have to commend the courage of all participants both in front of and behind the camera. It’s rare to see a documentary that manages to be so emotionally intimate, ethically complicated, and socially relevant all at once. Here’s to everyone fighting so hard to take back their voice.
By: Louisa Moore
Screen Zealots 