The Reel Review
In 2017, NSA consultant and decorated Air Force veteran Reality Winner was arrested and later convicted under The Espionage Act of 1917 for releasing a classified document about Russia’s successful cyberhacking and interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Her five-year prison sentence was the longest ever imposed for an unauthorized release of government information to the media. This documentary is her story.
Incorporating archival footage of her arrest with the audio recordings of her interrogation and following Winner and her family through her incarceration, the documentary paints a portrait of federal authorities retaliating against the uniquely named Winner after her classified document revealed that the FBI was well aware of successful Russian interference and hacking into the voter registration system, despite public claims to the contrary. The film even includes interviews with whistleblowers Edward Snowden and John Kiriakou and is sharply critical of the mainstream news media.
Winner explains that she leaked the document to the online news organization The Intercept under the naive, well-intentioned hope of clearing up lingering doubts by the public over the election. Although the disclosure put no lives in jeopardy, bail was denied after prosecutors and the media had falsely portrayed Winner as a terrorist sympathizer. The straightforward documentary, while at times dry, is an important look at the high price whistleblowers often pay for speaking out, while a U.S. president accused of the same crime, and with 34 felony convictions, remains free.
REEL FACTS
• Reality Winner today lives in Kingsville, Texas where she teaches yoga and CrossFit.
• Here is the classified document that Winner released.
• Since the documentary, there has been two biopics made about Reality Winner: 2023’s Reality, starring Sydney Sweeney, which focuses solely on the FBI interrogation, and 2024’s Winner, starring Olivia Jones (CODA), Connie Britton and Zack Galifianakis, which looks at her life and motive for going public.
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