Eugene Jarecki shares the story of Julian Assange in The Six Billion Dollar Man.

The Six Billion Dollar Man peels back the layers of one of the most influential media sagas of the 21st century, revealing the untold story behind WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. FACT attended the premiere and spoke to director Eugene Jarecki about truth, power and the global fight for press freedom.

Eugene Jarecki was born and grew up in New York City, United States. He studied at Princeton University and went on to build a career examining America’s role on the world stage. His filmography includes the Academy Award–nominated Why We Fight, the critically acclaimed The House I Live In and Reagan, as well as The King, which explores the life of Elvis Presley.

Awards and acclaim

Produced by Kathleen Fournier and Eugene Jarecki, The Six Billion Dollar Man has won a Golden Globe Award for Documentary and the L’Œil d’or prize at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Eugene explains: “Most of my films have started off as an idea. This was actually inspired by evidence. I felt like an investigator who had stumbled upon something. We were shown evidence about torture, and evidence that Julian Assange was illegally spied on.”

Drawing on never-before-seen footage and unprecedented access, the documentary charts the rise of WikiLeaks and the relentless political and legal backlash that followed. At its core, the work explores what happens when journalism is treated as a crime. The film argues that the answer has implications far beyond one individual and touches on the public’s right to know the truth.

The public and power

The Six Billion Dollar Man brings together a compelling cast of voices, including Julian Assange, whistle-blower Edward Snowden, author and activist Naomi Klein, Assange’s wife Stella Assange, and actress Pamela Anderson. Despite the documentary receiving support from celebrities and critics — the premiere was attended by famous faces from Jameela Jamil to Vanessa Redgrave — it has struggled to secure backing from a streaming platform.

“The streamers don’t programme this kind of movie. Julian Assange is the enemy of the state. We live in a time where people like this are ostracised and turned into public enemy number one. You don’t have a winning relationship at the beginning with streamers. They are controlled by corporate power, and they recognise that WikiLeaks looks to expose them as well,” he sighs.

“They’re not looking to promote WikiLeaks exposing them on a Monday, only for it to expose something about them on a Tuesday. They’re riding in the same golf carts, going to the same dinners. Even if the way they express it is different, there is a joint venture of organised and concentrated finance against the rights of the people.”

As a result, Eugene had to make the film outside the United States. He reflects: “My dad fled Berlin to go to America to be safe and free. I had to go back to Berlin to escape the collapsing truth in America.”

“I also ran the risk that I might have discovered Julian Assange was a criminal. If I had discovered he was a criminal, it would have been me against him. I would have had to make that film.”

The documentary not only presents Julian Assange to a whole generation of people who might not be aware of the man, but also a human side that has often been forgotten. We see the birth of Julian’s child and a wedding inside a prison, no less.

So, what is Eugene’s advice for the viewer? He explains: “As busy as I am with human rights, I still might unknowingly wear a jacket made by slaves. I’m sucked into the vortex of hypocrisy. We all have to look at everything we do. We have to ask ourselves: what is the right action? When you start to think that way, you ask what the right action would look like. What would you have to boycott? How do you need to position yourself?”

The Six Billion Dollar Man is out now in cinemas.

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