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Vivienne Chow

The director of a documentary on Edward Snowden wants the film to eventually make it to Hong Kong's cinema screens.
Laura Poitras says she hopes the tale of the National Security Agency whistle-blower will inspire people to provide solidarity to those who risk their lives for a greater good, including those fighting for democracy in the city.
"We really want to screen the film in Hong Kong," the director said after Friday's world premiere of Citizenfour at the New York Film Festival. The film opens in the US on October 24.
When asked if the film's sensitive subject would affect its chances of being picked up by a Hong Kong distributor, Poitras said: "We have no resistance so far."
Poitras, who filmed Snowden in Hong Kong last year and witnessed how the disclosure unfolded, said she had been following the Occupy protests.

	I have solidarity for people fighting for democracy

	Laura Poitras
"I have solidarity for people fighting for democracy," she said.
"We rally around people who made a sacrifice. [Snowden] took extraordinary risks. He's not the only one. There are others. What we are doing is to provide solidarity to those people who are putting themselves at risk."
The 114-minute Citizenfour is billed as the final instalment of a post-9/11 trilogy following My Country, My Country (2006) on the US occupation of Iraq and The Oath (2010), the tale of two brothers-in-law working for Osama bin Laden.
Poitras said the camera was "there when it is unfolding in real time" as Snowden exposed the US and British intelligence agencies' surveillance campaign. The film is centred on Snowden's meetings with journalist Glenn Greenwald at the Mira Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Speaking at a festival talk, Poitras said she was "an observer as well as a participant" as she was pulled into the "filming one of the most important journalistic disclosures in real time" when Snowden initially contacted her, using Citizenfour as an alias.
Poitras said she took extra precautions during the filming.
"I had been using an encrypted hard drive before I went to Hong Kong. I prepared many encrypted drives. I offloaded the material and I destroyed the original media," she said.
"When I left Hong Kong, I left a backup there [and] took everything else to Berlin [where the film was edited]. Everybody on this team had to learn a lot about encryption and passwords and stuff. We needed to keep all the source materials secure."
Poitras said the experience had left an impact. "I can't write on my computer when it's connected to the internet," she said.
WATCH: The Citizenfour trailer



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Edward Snowden

Snowden film director Laura Poitras wants Hong Kong release for Citizenfour

Laura Poitras said she had been following the Occupy protests. Photo: Julie Cunnah

Laura Poitras said she had been following the Occupy protests.

Hong Kong in cinema spotlight in documentary on Edward Snowden

Citizenfour also has scenes of Edward Snowden in his Moscow apartment. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Citizenfouralso has scenes of Edward Snowden in his Moscow apartment. Photo: SMP

This file picture taken on June 24 shows Edward Snowden speaking to European officials via videoconference during a parliamentary hearing at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. Photo: AFP

The Guardian's Ewen MacAskill and Glenn Greenwald, and documentary-maker Laura Poitras. Photo: GDN

Lindsay Mills. Photo: SMP

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Hong Kong

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The director of a documentary on Edward Snowden wants the film to eventually make it to Hong Kong's cinema screens.
