The following year Poitras travelled to Iraq. The events of 9/11, and the subsequent invasion of Iraq, had proved a powerful catalyst in her thinking. ‘It was kind of a pivotal moment, when you realise that history can go in many directions,’ she says. ‘There was a palpable feeling around the world that this was a horrendous act and that people would unite in condemning it. It felt as if there was a path to follow, that if we uphold the principles and the rule of law that democracies are founded upon, then you can combat these kind of actions. But the US chose to walk down a different road that involved torture, detention and the unilateral invasion of other countries because they think they might want to do harm. Those are really radical political actions. And I felt it was important to have an on-the-ground understanding of what was going on.’