(T)error

After working for more than 20 years as a counterterrorism informant for the FBI, Saeed “Shariff” Torres has a choice to make. He can stay home to raise his son or do one last high-stakes job for the Bureau. Infiltrating terror networks and befriending suspected terrorists is Torres’s specialty. He is one of a growing number of covert operatives in America who straddle the murky line between preventing crimes and inventing them. Shot over the course of two years and with unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to a counterterrorism sting, (T)ERROR feels like a political spy novel set in your own hometown. A faceless character throughout, the FBI is an omnipresent force, pushing hard for results as Torres slowly closes in on his target. As secrets emerge from his past, Torres is caught between the consequences of his double life and mounting pressure from his handlers. Taut, stark, and controversial, (T)ERROR illuminates the fragile relationships between individual and surveillance state in modern America, and asks: Who is watching the watchers? (Sundance)