Filmmaker Laura Poitras was awarded two top honors on Sunday for her feature Citizenfour, which chronicles NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's efforts to expose the U.S. government's massive spying campaign.
Sunday evening in Los Angeles, the filmmaker was honored with the Director's Guild Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary. In London, Citizenfour won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for Best Documentary of 2014.
The film, which features Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald as they travel to Hong Kong to meet the surveillance contractor, has also been nominated for an Academy Award, which will be presented on February 22.
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The accolades come just weeks after the filmmaker and journalist was given the 2014 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence. "Her films address complex political realities through deeply moving personal stories, allowing viewers to connect emotionally to otherwise abstract issues," the nominating committee wrote. "Her trademark is meticulous research and extensive filming."
On Thursday, Poitras and Greenwald will be joined by Edward Snowden via live video feed for a discussion about the film, which will be held at the New School's Tishman Auditorium.
