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. The film that resulted from this series of tense encounters is absolutely sui generis in the history of cinema: a 100% real-life thriller unfolding minute by minute before our eyes. Poitras is a great and brave filmmaker, but she is also a masterful storyteller: she compresses the many days of questioning, waiting, confirming, watching the world’s reaction and agonizing over the next move, into both a great character study of Snowden and a narrative that will leave you on the edge of your seat as it inexorably moves toward its conclusion.
![]() |
Edward Snowden as Himself |
![]() |
Glenn Greenwald as Himself |
![]() |
Laura Poitras as Herself |
![]() |
William Binney as Himself |
![]() |
Barack Obama as Himself |
![]() |
Jacob Appelbaum as Himself |
![]() |
Julian Assange as Himself |
![]() |
Jeremy Scahill as Himself |
![]() |
Kevin Bankston as Himself |
![]() |
Ewen MacAskill as Himself |
![]() |
Lindsay Mills as Herself |
Directing | Laura Poitras | Director |
Crew | Sara Bernstein | Supervisor of Production Resources |
Production | Mathilde Bonnefoy | Producer |
Editing | Mathilde Bonnefoy | Editor |
Production | Svenja Rieck | Production Manager |
Camera | Kirsten Johnson | Director of Photography |
Camera | Trevor Paglen | Director of Photography |
Camera | Katy Scoggin | Director of Photography |
Production | Kirsten Johnson | Co-Producer |
Production | Dirk Wilutzky | Producer |
Production | Laura Poitras | Producer |
Production | Katy Scoggin | Co-Producer |
Production | Steven Soderbergh | Executive Producer |
Production | Jeff Skoll | Executive Producer |
Production | Diane Weyermann | Executive Producer |
Production | Tom Quinn | Executive Producer |
Production | Sheila Nevins | Executive Producer |
Production | David Menschel | Executive Producer |