| Cover Up | |
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 Release poster | |
| Directed by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | Seymour Hersh |
| Cinematography | Mia Cioffi Henry[1] |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Maya Shenfeld |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release dates | |
Running time | 118 minutes[3] |
| Country | United States |
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Cover-Up is a 2025 Americandocumentary film produced and directed byLaura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus. It explores the investigative journalism career ofSeymour Hersh, aPulitzer Prize-winning journalist who covered theMy Lai massacre during theVietnam War and theAbu Ghraib torture scandal during theIraq War, both committed by the U.S. Army.[4]
The film premiered out of competition at the82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2025.[5] It had alimited theatrical release in the U.S. on December 19 and began streaming globally onNetflix on December 26.
American journalistSeymour Hersh reluctantly agrees to discuss his career, providing unprecedented access to his body of work. The film follows the exposure of U.S. war crimes during theVietnam War and thesecret U.S. bombing of Cambodia; theWatergate scandal; the CIA'sprogram of domestic spying; and thetorture and abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib during the U.S.war on terror. It incorporates archival audio recordings, including White House tapes ofRichard Nixon discussing Hersh withHenry Kissinger.[6]
In 2004,Laura Poitras had the idea of making a documentary film followingSeymour Hersh in real time as he met sources or in meetings atThe New Yorker. Hersh opposed the idea as it would be risky for sources and he did not want to talk about himself. But Poitras and Hersh remained in touch.[7][8] After finishingAll the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Poitras reached out to Hersh, who suggested she speak to Mark Obenhaus, as Obenhaus and Hersh wanted to enter production on a film about Hersh's reporting on theMy Lai massacre, which struggled to find financing.[9][10] Poitras and Obenhaus decided to collaborate, with Hersh allowing Obenhaus and Poitras, alongside archival producers, access to his archive, which had over 7,000 assets.[11] Obenhaus, Poitras, and producer Olivia Streisand spent three months creating a proof-of-concept for the film and figuring out how to work together.[12]All The President's Men andThe Parallax View were among inspirations for the film's tone.[13] The documentary also addresses controversies in Hersh's career, including his 1997 bookThe Dark Side of Camelot, from which he removed a chapter based on letters later revealed to be forgeries.[6]
The film had its world premiere out of competition at the82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2025.[14] It screened at the52nd Telluride Film Festival on August 30 and at the2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10.[15][16] It also screened at the main slate of the2025 New York Film Festival.[17] It competed in the Stockholm Documentary Competition of the2025 Stockholm International Film Festival on November 5, 2025.[18] It screened atAFI Fest on October 22.[19] On November 17, it was the closing film at Glimmerglass Film Days inCooperstown, New York.[20]
In September 2025,Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film, planning a winter release.[21] It was theatrically released in the U.S. on December 19 and had a global streaming release on December 26.
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 98% of 56 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Cover-Up shines a light on Seymour Hersh's remarkable career and the pugnacious commitment it required, making for an absorbing and instructive treatise on journalistic responsibility."[22]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 86 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[23]
| Award / Film Festival | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critics' Choice Documentary Awards | November 9, 2025 | Best Documentary Feature | Cover-up | Nominated | [24] |
| Best Historical Documentary | Nominated | ||||
| Stockholm International Film Festival | November 14, 2025 | Best Documentary | Nominated | [25] | |
| Cinema Eye Honors | January 8, 2026 | Outstanding Non-Fiction Feature | Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus, Yoni Golijov, Olivia Streisand, Mia Cioffi Henry, Amy Foote, Peter Bowman, Maya Shenfeld, and Seymour Hersh | Nominated | [26] |
| Outstanding Direction | Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Editing | Amy Foote, Peter Bowman and Laura Poitras | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Original Music Score | Maya Shenfeld | Nominated | |||
| Audience Choice Prize | Cover-Up | Nominated | |||
| The Unforgettables | Seymour Hersh | Won | |||
| Astra Awards | January 9, 2026 | Best Documentary Feature | Cover-Up | Nominated | [27] |
| AARP Movies for Grownups Awards | January 10, 2026 | Best Documentary | Nominated | [28] | |
| Producers Guild of America Awards | February 28, 2026 | Best Documentary | Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus, Yoni Golijov and Olivia Streisand | Pending | [29] |
| National Board of Review | January 13, 2026 | Best Documentary | Cover-Up | Won | [30] |
| Academy Awards | March 15, 2026 | Best Documentary Feature Film | Cover-Up | Shortlisted | [31] |