Oscar-winner Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour”) and Emmy-winner Mark Obenhaus (“Steep”) co-directed the well-reviewed non-fiction exposé “Cowl-Up,” which launched on the 2025 Venice Worldwide Movie Pageant earlier than transferring on to Telluride, Toronto, New York, and London. Netflix has acquired the movie, which IndieWire completely declares, and can launch the movie later this yr because it pushes forward with an Oscar marketing campaign.
“Cowl-Up” covers 50 years of America’s worst ethical crimes by way of the lens of Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, who’s nearing 90 years previous.
“I’m excited that Netflix picked up the film,” mentioned Hersh in a press assertion. “It is a time when journalism wants all of the assist it will possibly get.”
“Unflinching,” wrote David Ehrlich in his assessment of the epic political documentary. He describes how Hersh “is interrupted by an pressing name from a Gazan supply concerning the newest incident of kid killings. It’s solely in that second, when the previous and current evils of the American empire are collapsed right into a single immorality, that ‘Cowl-Up’ jumps backwards in time to unpack Hersh’s upbringing because the son of a Holocaust survivor.”
Produced by Poitras, Obenhaus, Yoni Golijov, and Olivia Streisand, “Cowl-Up” performs like a thriller in addition to a profile in braveness because it connects the dots between the Mỹ Lai Bloodbath and the genocide in Gaza. A well-reported indictment of institutional violence, “Cowl-Up” reveals a cycle of impunity in U.S. navy and intelligence companies because it attracts on unique entry to Hersh’s notes, weaving collectively main paperwork and archival footage. Lastly, “Cowl-Up” captures the ability and means of investigative journalism.
“We’re deeply proud to affix forces with Netflix on the worldwide launch of ‘Cowl-Up,’” mentioned Poitras. “It is a movie I’ve been desirous to make for over 20 years, and I’m so grateful that Sy lastly relented. It’s an honor to introduce youthful generations — significantly younger journalists — to Sy’s outsider muckraking reporting.”
“’Cowl-Up’ is a couple of exceptional reporter, Seymour Hersh,” mentioned Obenhaus. “By him, the movie speaks to the important position of investigative journalism in holding the highly effective accountable. Netflix, with its huge home and international attain, is just the perfect platform to launch ‘Cowl-Up’ to the viewers we expect it deserves.”
Govt-produced by Thomas MacWhirr, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Josh Braun (whose Submarine bought the movie), and Nick Shumaker, the movie is ready for launch later this yr.
Three-time Oscar nominee Poitras (“All of the Magnificence and the Bloodshed,” “Citizenfour,” “My Nation, My Nation”) is usually within the Oscar dialog, and judging by competition evaluations, “Cowl-Up” will likely be no exception.
