COVER-UP Documentary

A gripping portrait of one of America’s most formidable investigative journalists, COVER-UP traces the incendiary career of Seymour Hersh: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, whose six decades of fearless reporting have helped expose some of the most harrowing abuses of power in U.S. history. From the My Lai massacre and Watergate to CIA domestic spying and the horrors of Abu Ghraib, Hersh’s stories tore through official narratives — often at great personal and professional risk. Oscar® winner Laura Poitras and veteran documentarian Mark Obenhaus construct a riveting, often startling, documentary that is as much a study of institutional accountability as it is of Hersh himself: guarded, sharp-witted and uncompromising, with a career to match — and one that has not been free of controversy itself. The film’s access to Hersh’s private notes and archives — paired with archival footage and interviews — offers rare insight into the painstaking process and moral resolve behind his work. With a haunting score by Maya Shenfeld, COVER-UP is more than a simple biographical recounting. It is a timely political thriller, a meditation on truth-seeking, a warning shot amid today’s assaults on press freedom and a multifaceted portrait of a complex individual whose impact on history, politics and journalism continues to unfold. –Abbie Algar