Film Forum

Shortlisted for the 2026 Academy Award® for Documentary Feature Film

Pulitzer-winning investigative reporter Seymour M. Hersh was first to uncover the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, multiple illegal CIA covert operations (including domestic spying and conducting experiments on Americans), and the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Oscar®-winning filmmaker Poitras (CITIZENFOUR) and Emmy®-winning filmmaker Obenhaus trace the history of Hersh’s courageous, iconoclastic reporting (much of which was initially met with skepticism by mainstream outlets), his deep reservoir of sources inside government agencies, and his run-ins with politicians and editors. At a time when freedom of the press is increasingly in jeopardy and self-censorship by major media prevalent, COVER-UP is a reminder of the critical role hard-hitting investigative reporting plays in a democracy.

Presented with support from The Richard Brick, Geri Ashur, and Sara Bershtel Fund for Social Justice Documentaries

2025     117 MIN.     USA

“Secrets & Lies: Through the Lens of Laura Poitras,” a retrospective, will run November 23 through February 21 at the Paris Theater.

Reviews

“BRILLIANT AND DAMNING... In refracting more than 50 years of crime and conspiracy through the prism of Hersh’s career as an investigative reporter, COVER-UP is also the deepest and most damning film that Poitras has ever made about truth in America—and the power to control it... A rare and unmistakably urgent documentary.”
– David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“RIVETING. Grips the attention from the opening frames... Explores the extraordinary career of Hersh, who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest investigative journalists in American history (except perhaps by those whose misdeeds he has exposed).... The film includes audio of President Nixon snarling about Hersh in conversation with his national security advisor, Henry Kissinger. In one of the White House tapes, Nixon grouses, ‘The son of a bitch is a son of a bitch. But he’s usually right, isn’t he?’”
– Matthew Carey, Deadline

“ENTHRALLING. Captures how uncovering corruption is always a mountain to climb.”
– Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“EXHILARATING… As a documentary subject, Hersh is thoroughly engaging—by turns charming, surly and vulnerable... The film wisely points out that the first wave of reactions to Hersh’s My Lai story questioned its validity and dismissed it as propaganda—something worth keeping in mind as we navigate the ever-devolving information age.”
– Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter