When Does "Snowden" (2016) Take Place?
"Snowden" is a historical fiction film written by Oliver Stone with Kieran Fitzgerald and released in a public theater July 21st, 2016. (Wide release was September 16th, 2016.)
It takes place in the years:
We know this because the main action of the narrative starts with a time and place setting title card that reads "CIA TRAINING CENTER, VIRGINIA 'THE HILL' - 2006". Another one, a quarter of the way through, brings us to "GENEVA, SWITZERLAND 2007". Official photographs in the background confirm that George W. Bush is still the then-current President of the United States of America, so these scenes have to happen between January 2001 AD when he was sworn-in and January 2009 AD when his final term ended. This combined with title cards bring us from 2006 AD to 2007 AD.
2006 AD - 2009 AD & 2011 AD - 2012 AD
We know this because the main action of the narrative starts with a time and place setting title card that reads "CIA TRAINING CENTER, VIRGINIA 'THE HILL' - 2006". Another one, a quarter of the way through, brings us to "GENEVA, SWITZERLAND 2007". Official photographs in the background confirm that George W. Bush is still the then-current President of the United States of America, so these scenes have to happen between January 2001 AD when he was sworn-in and January 2009 AD when his final term ended. This combined with title cards bring us from 2006 AD to 2007 AD.
Next, Edward Snowden and his girlfriend are watching the television (and reading internet) coverage of the United States 2008 AD presidential campaign between Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama on Election Day itself, which was on November 4th, 2008 AD. So it must be 2008 AD despite the lack of any title card. A fresh time and place setting title card takes the audience to "YOKOTA AIR BASE, TOKYO 2009".
The narrative seems to skip 2010 AD into 2011 AD because Snowden narrates through voice-over, "after 3 months, I left too. I went back to Maryland" over a shot with yet another time and place setting title card labeling it "COLUMBIA, MARYLAND 2011". Finally, the main action includes one more, putting us in “ ‘THE TUNNEL’ NSA OPS. CENTER OAHU, HAWAII - 2012” for a string of events that carry the story right up to the point of the 2013 AD framing scenes.
Additionally, there is a prologue with a time and place setting title card reading "FORT BENNING, GEORGIA 2004". The Army of the United States of America acknowledged that the real-world Snowden enlisted on May 7th, 2004 AD and was discharged on September 28th, 2004 AD. So that is all in 2004 AD.
The main action and the prologue are framed by a later historical moment shown at the very beginning and sprinkled throughout the movie. This frame narrative point is clearly labeled by time and place setting title cards of its own: "HONG KONG MONDAY - JUNE 3, 2013" (later ones say "TUESDAY - JUNE 4, 2013" through "MONDAY JUNE 10, 2013"). Snowden tells real-world documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras and real-world journalist Glenn Greenwald in this frame narrative in 2013 AD that he's "worked in various jobs in the intelligence industry for the last 9 years."
2013 - 9 = 2004.
Finally, a (possibly archival) reporter soundbyte: "after more than a year", referring to events shown at the end of the frame narrative, is heard. So we end with an epilogue that’s probably in 2014 AD.
The film also opens with a white-on-black title card: "The following is a dramatization of actual events that occurred between 2004 and 2013."
