Laura Poitras Explains How She Made Edward Snowden Doc ‘Citizenfour’ in Secret (Part 1)

Mon Oct 20 11:59:28 EDT 2014

In the first of a two-part interview, the director of this year's most daring non-fiction achievement explains how she pulled it off.

Daniel Bergeron "Citizenfour" director Laura Poitras

In "Citizenfour," documentarian Laura Poitras chronicles the Edward Snowden story from the inside out: Poitras was secretly contacted by the former NSA contractor in 2012 and met him in Hong Kong. Along with journalist Glenn Greenwald, she played a key role in announcing his revelations about the U.S. government's surveillance techniques to the world. Poitras' movie unfolds like a real-time thriller, tracking Snowden's anxieties on the brink of his global celebrity, as well as the aftermath. Now living with his girlfriend with a one-year work permit in Russia, Snowden remains an object of media scrutiny, but the story surrounding the materials he leaked to the public has grown much bigger than him. Poitras' movie tracks every beat of these historical events with a mixture of shock and excitement that has garnered rave reviews.

A few days after the movie's premiere at the New York Film Festival, the director sat down with Indiewire to discuss the challenges of developing her project in secret and developing a narrative that reflected her experiences. Stay tuned for the second half of our interview tomorrow, in which Poitras addresses the ramifications of Snowden's decision.

READ MORE: 'Citizenfour' is a Bracing Look at Former NSA Whistleblower's Impact

This movie makes you scared to record a conversation. But here we are.

It's actually funny, because literally every journalist has been like, "Do you mind if I turn this on?" Like it's not a given. That's why we're here! It's cool. Don't worry about it.

But did this project make you more paranoid about surveillance methods?

I don't call it that. I don't think being careful is being paranoid. I have good reason to believe my phone prints might be targeted. So I don't carry it with me in the editing room. That just seems like common sense, not paranoia.

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Laura Poitras Explains How She Made Edward Snowden Doc 'Citizenfour' in Secret (Part 1)