UK & World

A new documentary has captured Edward Snowden's leak of National Security Agency documents as it unfolded in a Hong Kong hotel room.

Laura Poitras' highly anticipated documentary Citizenfour, which premiered at the New York Film Festival, presents a remarkably intimate portrait of Mr Snowden, including his first meetings with the journalists with whom he shared thousands of documents revealing the collection of Americans' phone and email records.

Initially communicating under the alias "citizenfour", Mr Snowden reached out to Ms Poitras, a hybrid journalist-documentarian, and Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald. The film shows their first meeting with Mr Snowden and the days that followed as his revelations made international news.

From the beginning, Mr Snowden is seen as highly aware that such a leak would mean sacrificing his own freedom.

"I already know how this will end for me," he says. "And I accept the risk."

Mr Snowden was charged with three felony offences under the Espionage Act: unauthorised communication of national defence information; theft of government property; and wllful communication of classified communications intelligence to an unauthorised person.

He is currently living in asylum in Russia, where he fled from Hong Kong with the aid of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Ms Poitras said she showed the film to Mr Snowden two or three weeks ago, during which she shot footage (used in the film) of him and his long-time girlfriend Lindsay Mills cooking dinner at their Moscow home.

Members of Mr Snowden's family attended the screening, which was received with an emotional standing ovation. His father, Lonnie Snowden, told the crowd: "The truth is coming, and it cannot be stopped."

Citizenfour, which the Weinstein Co's boutique label Radius will release on October 24, had been shrouded in mystery.

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UK & World