(MENAFN- Arab Times) NEW YORK Oct 23 (Agencies): US documentary maker Laura Poitras has found herself in many a risky situation in Iraq and Yemen. But she never felt in as much danger as when she was filming Edward Snowden in a Hong Kong hotel while he prepared to blow the whistle on massive secret surveillance programs run by the US government.
Those tense eight days form the centerpiece of 'Citizenfour' her account of how the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor decided in 2013 to release to the media tens of thousands of classified documents and the global repercussions of that action. 'I think he (Snowden) was certainly in danger and I certainly had a lot of fear. I have worked in conflict zones but I felt more fear working on this film than I did when working in Baghdad' Poitras told Reuters. 'It was clear for me when we started communicating over email that if he was legitimate we were going to anger some of the most powerful people in the world and people who would try to make this stop. These are powerful institutions and they have an enormous reach' she added. Exposing 'Citizenfour' opens in select US movie theaters on Friday. It takes its title from the moniker Snowden used when he first approached Poitras through encrypted emails with a view to exposing how the NSA gathers data on the Internet activities and phone calls of millions of ordinary Americans and dozens of world leaders. Poitras shared a Pulitzer prize for her role in publicizing that information and 'Citizenfour' is being tipped by awards watchers for an Oscar nomination in January. Outwardly calm in the film Snowden becomes jumpy at an insistent hotel fire alarm. At one point he dives under a red hood to cloak his laptop and password from any overhead cameras in the room. When Poitras first started communicating with Snowden she assumed he would remain anonymous and had no expectation of filming him. 'But at some point he said 'I don't want to conceal my identity and I won't be able to. They will find out.' He had made peace with that but he never asked to be filmed. 'He didn't want the story to be about him. He wanted the public to understand what the government was doing. (But) I said even if you don't want it to be about you the way the news works it will become about you. And you need to be able to articulate your motivations' she said. Conclusions Poitras hopes the documentary will allow audiences to reach their own conclusions about Snowden who is wanted in the United States on charges brought under the Espionage Act and is viewed as either a traitor or a hero. She said the impact of his revelations was much greater than expected and says there are more disclosures to come. 'Even though people claim we are being slow these stories take a really long time to report and to understand the documents' said Poitras. She relocated from New York to Berlin while working on 'Citizenfour' for fear of having her material seized. 'There is something about the way surveillance works that gets inside your head. I can't assume my life is private any more. I go to sleep every night and I think about the NSA and I wake up and I think about the NSA' she said. Poitras spoke the morning after 'Citizenfour' premiered at the New York Film Festival. After the screening the Lincoln Center stage swelled with the movie's filmmakers whistleblowers like former NSA official William Binney and Snowden family members. Poitras called the crowded stage 'a show of force.' AP: What was it like in that hotel room Poitras: My experience was unlike any that I've ever filmed. I've worked in conflict zones and this felt more dangerous than any other place I've ever been. I felt the stakes were just incredibly high. I remember thinking very much that all my experiences as a filmmaker kind of went on autopilot. Emotionally it was really hard because I really felt this person was absolutely putting their life on the line and there was a certain burden to participate in that and witness it and not know what the outcome would be. So it felt like a bit of a freefall. AP: Was your role at all confusing being that you were there as a journalist a filmmaker and an ally in a cause Poitras: When I was in Hong Kong I was there as a documentary filmmaker so I would call that visual journalism. I was there to record what I perceived to be a historic event. I wanted to be able to see somebody who's risked everything. That doesn't happen every day. I had different roles at different times. A lot of people could have written stories about these documents but I felt like not a lot of people would have gotten into that hotel room. AP: It makes for a completely unique film. Poitras: I had a bunch of legal meetings before going and they were like 'Well it's a bit risky to go to Hong Kong. Just don't document anything.' I was like 'No no that's not what's going to happen. I'm going to document everything.' AP: What really comes across is Snowden's level-headed conviction and his understanding of the likely ramifications for himself. Poitras: He was totally in a Zen state. He had arrived in a state where he was going to accept whatever consequences came so he was very calm but very intentional like: 'There are things in my brain that I want to communicate to you. You're not going to understand them all. But write them down because the world needs to know them and I might not ever see you again.' AP: How was it editing the film in Berlin where you worked to be outside of US jurisdiction Poitras: We were working in lots of encryptions. Only my editor and I know certain things. There were real risks. When I came back from Hong Kong I had to sit everyone down and say 'If this doesn't feel comfortable you need to let me know because there is a chance we get a knock on the door.' These are real potential things that the government might try to seize the footage. AP: A few weeks ago you visited Snowden in Russia where he's living in asylum. The footage from that visit shows him living seemingly happy with his girlfriend Lindsay Mills. Poitras: I've visited him in Moscow several times in the past year. When I saw him last time I was like 'Wow he seems good.' Having Lindsay there is really good for him. He feels less of the weight of the world on him. AP: What did he think of the film Poitras: He took a lot of notes and then a lot of them were like 'So on that shot on the table behind there you can see a thumb drive.' He was basically looking at it from an operational security perspective. There's a bit of an irony in it because he began our meeting by saying 'I don't want the story to be about me. I want it to be about the issues.' And yet I've made a film about him. I think he understands why I've done that and he's consented to it. But I think there's a part of him that would like to recede from the story. AP: What kind of effect would you like 'Citizenfour' to have Poitras: Hopefully seeing the risks that someone takes in a situation like this maybe it provides a place or protection for people to come forward.
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