Citizenfour(2014)
dir. Laura Poitras
Filmed in the room where the leak actually happened.
Where to watch: Free on Tubi, HooplaLetterboxd ↗
Laura Poitras films Edward Snowden's first meetings with journalists in a Hong Kong hotel room as he hands over evidence of mass NSA surveillance.
Why it’s here
Poitras was already filming when Snowden reached out, so this isn't reconstructed after the fact — it's the actual hotel room, the actual first read of the documents, tension that isn't staged because nobody knew yet how it would end.
Where This Film Lives
- Setting
- North America
- Topics
- nsa surveillance leaks
Read Alongside
Books that share a topic, theme, or setting with this film.
Permanent Record
Edward Snowden
He saw the surveillance machine from inside. Then he burned it down.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
1984
George Orwell
Big Brother still watching your feed.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Stasiland
Anna Funder
East Germany's Stasi, interviewed by a disbeliever.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
The Dream Hotel
Laila Lalami
They're monitoring dreams now. Hers flagged her as a threat.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Without You There Is No Us
Suki Kim
Teaching English to Pyongyang's elite. Undercover.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
A Fine Balance
Rohinton Mistry
India's Emergency. Four people. The state decides who survives.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Animal Farm
George Orwell
Meet the original gas-lighting pigs.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Anthills of the Savannah
Chinua Achebe
A dictatorship and the three friends it destroys.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST