In June 2013, Laura Poitras and reporter Glenn Greenwald flew to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden. She brought her camera with her.
Direction
Poitras was already on a watchlist — she filmed from INSIDE the storm.
Editing
Tension built like fiction; every encrypted message feels like a bomb.
Cinematography
Hotel rooms never looked so claustrophobic or historically significant.
Director
Laura Poitras
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Poitras was contacted by Snowden using the alias 'Citizenfour' — she had no idea his real identity until Hong Kong.
The film's Oscar win in 2015 made Poitras the only American director to win for a documentary about active U.S. government crimes.
US
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