In a world saturated with disinformation, Cover-Up pulls us into the uncompromising ethos of one of journalism’s most legendary truth-tellers: Seymour Hersh. From exposing the My Lai massacre to unraveling CIA abuses and Abu Ghraib atrocities, Hersh has spent decades dragging concealed histories into the light — often at great personal and political cost. In this gripping portrait, Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) and Emmy-winning Frontline-producer Mark Obenhaus trace Hersh’s singular process with intimacy, skepticism, and bite. “I barely trust you guys,” Hersh quips, establishing a candid and often thorny dynamic between subject and directors.
Cover-Up is a layered meditation on source protection, moral clarity, and the imperative to report when it’s needed most, with the film mirroring Hersh’s own rigor — never comfortable, always urgent. Crucially, the film’s story bridges past and present: Hersh is still reporting, still outraging the powerful, now turning his unflinching gaze toward Gaza. Cover-Up isn’t a retrospective, it’s a dispatch from a frontline that never pulled back.
Media Partner
Community Partner
Laura Poitras & Mark Obenhaus
Seymour Hersh
USA
2025
English
Graphic violence
At International Village
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Credits
Executive Producer
Thomas MacWhirr, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Josh Braun, Nick Shumaker
Producer
Yoni Golijov, Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus, Olivia Streisand
Cinematography
Mia Cioffi Henry
Editor
Amy Foote, Peter Bowman, Laura Poitras
Original Music
Maya Shenfeld
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Art of Adventure
The unbelievable adventure story of how painter Robert Bateman and ecologist Bristol Foster drove a Land Rover from Africa to Australia in 1957, developing a love of nature to last a lifetime. An inspirational love letter to the adventure of life itself.
Man With a Movie Camera Live Scored by Taras Luka
Bottomless invention and frenetic, dizzying montage make this city symphony one of cinema’s sharpest, most exciting experiences nearly a century after its release — here presented with a brand new score by Ukrainian composer and pianist Taras Luka.
Erupcja
Charli xcx headlines this indie gem about a young English couple coming unmoored over a few days in Warsaw. Will means to propose. Beth has cold feet -- and an escape hatch she has barely admitted to herself... Think Before Sunrise 2025.
