Julian Assange documentary at Cannes reveals unseen footage and recovery after release

New film The Six Billion Dollar Man offers intimate view of Assange’s post-prison life and defends his whistleblowing legacy.

Julian Assange attends the photocall for "The Six Billion Dollar Man" at the 78th Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, on May 20, 2025. Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Corbis

By Adila Ghina and Novanka Laras

Julian Assange has made a low-key return to public life at the Cannes Film Festival, where a new documentary titled The Six Billion Dollar Man is premiering, offering a rare and intimate look at the Wikileaks founder’s life after his release from a British prison. The Julian Assange documentary is directed by award-winning American filmmaker Eugene Jarecki and includes never-before-seen footage, as well as new testimony that reexamines the controversial whistleblower’s role in exposing classified government and military documents.

Assange, now 53, is not granting interviews or making public comments during the film's debut. His wife, Stella Assange, told AFP that he is focused on recovering from the toll of his years in confinement. “He'll speak when he's ready,” she said. “We live with incredible nature at our doorstep (in Australia). Julian’s very outdoorsy. He always has been. He’s really recovered physically and mentally.”

Assange was released in June last year following a plea bargain with the United States. His agreement with U.S. authorities brought an end to over a decade of legal battles, including five years in a high-security prison in the United Kingdom and seven years under asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Inside the Assange film

The Julian Assange documentary at Cannes has sparked fresh debate over the Australian's legacy. Jarecki, known for politically charged works such as The King, aims to cast Assange in a new light. Speaking to AFP, he described his subject as someone who took significant personal risks for the sake of public transparency.

“Julian Assange put himself in harm’s way for the principle of informing the public about what corporations and governments around the world are doing in secret,” Jarecki said. “Anyone who’s willing to trade years of their life for their principles—you’d have to look at that person as having heroic qualities.”

The film, The Six Billion Dollar Man, includes home footage shared by Stella Assange, who originally joined Wikileaks as a legal adviser. Over time, the relationship between Stella and Julian evolved into something deeply personal—they now share two young children, conceived while Assange was confined to the Ecuadorian embassy.

In addition to personal scenes of Assange's time in confinement, the film includes testimonies from individuals who had spied on Wikileaks. Among them is a private security contractor who admitted to planting surveillance devices in the Ecuadorian embassy, allegedly at the behest of U.S. intelligence agencies.

Prominent voices also make appearances in the documentary, including Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked global surveillance details, and actress Pamela Anderson, a close friend and long-time supporter of Assange.

Defending a divisive figure

The Julian Assange documentary does not shy away from addressing criticisms. Jarecki confronts long-standing allegations that Wikileaks endangered lives by releasing unredacted diplomatic cables that identified confidential informants. Critics argue that such actions exposed individuals—including human rights activists—to potential harm.

Jarecki insists the context has often been skewed. “There’s no hard evidence that Wikileaks directly caused any loss of life,” he noted. “Julian believed that public access to information was essential for democracy.”

The filmmaker also rejected widely discussed claims that Wikileaks had ties to Russian intelligence, particularly regarding the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Emails leaked by the Democratic National Committee (DNC), published by Wikileaks, were believed to have originated from Russian hackers. However, Jarecki disputed the extent of that connection.

“Other than from the mouths of people in the Democratic Party, we’ve never found any evidence of any linkages between WikiLeaks and Russia,” he said.

His defense echoes sentiments made during the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. While Mueller concluded that Russian operatives hacked Democratic Party systems, the direct involvement of Wikileaks in coordinating with Russia remains unproven.

Assange’s life after prison

Since returning to Australia, Assange has been largely absent from public view. Stella described their new life as centered around nature and healing. “He’s really recovered,” she reiterated, emphasizing both mental and physical improvements in his health.

Julian’s reclusive behavior since his release is understandable. After more than a decade spent fighting legal battles and living under surveillance, the transition back to normal life requires time and space. The film captures this process of reentry into society, portraying moments of vulnerability and humanity rarely seen by the public.

Ecuador’s former president Rafael Correa, who granted Assange asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012, was expected to attend the documentary’s red carpet event on Wednesday evening in Cannes.

A wider cultural conversation

The Six Billion Dollar Man enters a growing genre of politically charged documentaries that explore themes of truth-telling, government overreach, and the personal toll of activism. The decision to premiere the film at Cannes—one of the world’s most prestigious and scrutinized film festivals—underscores the significance of the debate surrounding Assange’s legacy.

Jarecki, who won the festival’s first-ever Golden Globe for a documentary earlier this week for his previous works, says this new project builds on his mission to challenge public narratives. “Cinema has the power to question the official version of events,” he said. “And I believe that power is essential in democracies.”

The Julian Assange documentary has already begun to generate buzz among both film critics and political commentators. While some continue to see Assange as a reckless provocateur, others believe the film will help humanize him and shed light on the cost of standing up against state secrecy.

Whether Assange ultimately reengages with public discourse remains to be seen. For now, he remains silent, choosing privacy over publicity. But with this documentary, a new chapter begins—one that may reshape how history remembers one of the most controversial figures of the 21st century.

Explore more in Film

• Jafar Panahi returns to Cannes with political prisoner satire
• Cannes Film Festival lineup revealed with Wes Anderson and Ari Aster in competition
• Cannes Film Festival faces pressure to act as it unveils Palme d’Or contenders