Cover-Up

2025 1h 57m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 52

DocumentaryHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

He's devoted his career to uncovering stories the powerful want buried. From My Lai to Abu Ghraib, dig into the life's work of journalist Seymour Hersh.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Seymour Hersh
Self - Investigative Journalist
Jeff Gerth
Self - The New York Times
David Obst
Self - Dispatch News
Bob Woodward
Self - The Washington Post
Max Friedman
Self - Former Research Assistant
Amy Davidson Sorkin
Self - The New Yorker
Antonio Taguba
Self - U.S. Army Major General
Camille Lo Sapio
Self - Anonymous Source

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Laura Poitras
Languages: Arabic, English, German, Vietnamese
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released last year.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Arabic, English, German, Vietnamese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Laura Poitras, shot by Mia Cioffi Henry. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Maya Shenfeld. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Amy Foote shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Seymour Hersh and Jeff Gerth and David Obst carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt37660887 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 52 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Laura Poitras directs. Mia Cioffi Henry behind the camera. Maya Shenfeld scores. Amy Foote cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Arabic, English, German, Vietnamese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released last year.
2Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Arabic, English, German, Vietnamese.
3Directed by Laura Poitras, shot by Mia Cioffi Henry. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Maya Shenfeld. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Amy Foote shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Seymour Hersh and Jeff Gerth and David Obst carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt37660887 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 52 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "career", "covered investigation", "cover-up", "government cover-up".

The technical file

Cinematography: Mia Cioffi Henry
Original score: Maya Shenfeld
Editing: Amy Foote
Sound: Christopher Koch
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Cover-Up (2025)

Also by

Laura Poitras

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Brent Marchant2025-12-31
★ 7/10
In an age where it seems that troubling developments are ubiquitously lurking beneath the surface of public awareness, the need for intrepid investigative journalists to bring these stories to light is probably greater than ever. Unfortunately, such reporters have increasingly become a vanishing breed, especially in the mainstream media. Luckily, though, there are still some committed, courageous correspondents out there – mostly free-lancers – who are diligently working to bring these revelations to light. And one of the most prolific among them is veteran investigator Seymour “Sy” Hersh, who has made a career out of uncovering some of the biggest news stories for over 60 years. That prolific legacy is now the subject of a new documentary from directors Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, showcasing the 88-year-old’s many accomplishments, beginning with his exposé on the 1968 My Lai massacre (one of the Vietnam War’s watershed moments) and continuing up to his present-day reporting on incidents in global hot spots like Ukraine and Gaza. Viewers also learn of his diverse interim initiatives in covering the questionable practices of public figures like Henry Kissinger and clandestine organizations like the CIA, the atrocities of institutions like Iraq’s infamous Abu Ghraib prison, and the dubious ventures undertaken by major corporations, all through articles in various periodicals and an array of books. Over the years, Hersh has also bolstered the efforts of fellow journalists by helping to keep their stories alive when public interest in them was tepid, as evidenced, for example, by his supplemental coverage of the Watergate scandal, material that dovetailed the groundbreaking but underappreciated work of Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and helped to elevate awareness of that incident. In addition, the film profiles Hersh’s life outside the journalistic trenches, showing how his unplanned entry into the field was itself almost a sort of happy accident, one for which truth seekers and concerned citizens should be thankful. On balance, the filmmakers present an even-handed and comprehensive biography of their subject, driven by candid interviews with Hersh, accompanied by commentary from those who know and have worked with him, as well as a wealth of supporting archive footage. Admittedly, there are times when the narrative could benefit from some better organization of its content, given its tendency to occasionally skip around needlessly, an issue that has shown up in some of Poitras’s previous offerings. However, to its credit, this recipient of the National Board of Review’s award for best documentary of 2025 nevertheless provides audiences with an informative and enlightening look at a man who has made us aware of a good many things that we might not have otherwise heard of. Indeed, we’re collectively better off for having had Hersh’s presence in our lives. After all, just think about everything we might have missed out on if he hadn’t been there to write about it.

Production companies

Who made it

PR
Praxis Films
US
Plan B Entertainment
US
SU
Submarine Deluxe
US
GreenSlate
US
Postworks New York
US

Key crew

ProducerYoni Golijov
ProducerMark Obenhaus
ProducerLaura Poitras
Executive ProducerNick Shumaker
ProducerOlivia Streisand
EditorAmy Foote
EditorLaura Poitras
EditorPeter Bowman
Executive ProducerJeremy Kleiner
Executive ProducerDede Gardner
Executive ProducerBrad Pitt
Executive ProducerJosh Braun
Executive ProducerThomas MacWhirr
Co-ProducerNora Wilkinson
Music SupervisorDawn Sutter Madell
ColoristNat Jencks
Supervising Sound EditorChristopher Koch
Sound Re-Recording MixerChristopher Koch
Dialogue EditorFilipe Messeder
Sound Effects EditorLaura Heinzinger
Sound Mix TechnicianJack Liden
Assistant Sound EditorRae King
Music EditorPeter Bowman
Art DirectionLydia Milano

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

career
covered investigation
cover-up
government cover-up
investigative journalism
investigative journalist
political cover-up
political documentary
documentary portrait

Release history · US

When it landed

Premiere2025-10-08· New York Film Festival
Premiere2025-08-31· Telluride Film Festival
Premiere2025-10-09· Bend Film Festival
Premiere2025-10-11· Hamptons International Film Festival
Premiere2025-10-18· Woodstock Film Festival
Premiere2025-10-24· Chicago International Film Festival
Premiere2025-10-15· Orcas Island Film Festival
Premiere2025-10-20· Philadelphia Film Festival
Premiere2025-10-17· Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
Premiere2025-10-19· Middleburg Film Festival / Santa Fe International Film Festival