Laura Poitras’ latest, “Cover-Up,” one of the best docs of the year, has been acquired by Netflix and will be given 2025 theatrical release for Oscar consideration.
The doc is a direct encounter with Seymour Hersh, and at 88 he still comes off like a man allergic to bullsh*t. For nearly six decades, Hersh has been reporting truth bombs the mainstream press would rather sweep under the carpet—My Lai, Abu Ghraib, Watergate, CIA spying.
Watching “Cover-Up” feels like an encounter with history, journalism, and a man who won’t stop fighting the powerful, even as the powers-that-be continuously aim to shut him down. Poitras has always been fascinated by anti-establishment fighters, from Edward Snowden to Julian Assange, and now Hersh had been added to her canon of films.
As for the documentary Oscar race, it’s a tight one, always one of the more interesting categories to follow, with titles such as “Cover-Up,” “The Perfect Neighbor,” and “2000 Meters to Andrivka” as the frontrunners.