NEW YORK » Edward Snowden, "Citizenfour" director Laura Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald have had a kind of reunion, their first time publicly together since clandestinely meeting in a Hong Kong hotel in 2013.

Snowden, a former Waipahu resident, appeared on video link from Russia on Thursday. The three sat for a talk conducted by The New York Times. They spoke about the Oscar-nominated documentary, which chronicles Snowden’s leak of National Security Agency documents.

Snowden says though he initially refused Poitras’ wish to film their encounter she eventually convinced him. He calls the film "incredible."

Snowden figures to be a conspicuous absence from the Academy Awards, at which "Citizenfour" is the favorite to win the documentary Oscar.

He says living in Moscow he’s busier than he ever was as an NSA employee.