The release of Sleeping Dog has renewed attention on a simmering national conversation about UAP footage and classified programs. In the film, investigative journalist Jeremy Corbell presents several clips that he says are part of the 46 videos Congress has formally asked the government to make public. The documentary will open in select theaters on May 8 and become available digitally on May 12, and it includes footage that has not circulated widely before, including a color radar clip of a small cylindrical object moving with no visible propulsion. Corbell frames his work as journalism aimed at prompting transparency from the Department of War and other agencies.
Beyond the visuals, Sleeping Dog is positioned as an exploration of the human and institutional cost of secrecy. Director Michael Lazovsky—who came to the project after collaborating on the Weaponized podcast—follows Corbell as he navigates whistleblower testimony, classified briefings, and political pressure. The film stitches together radar files, eyewitness accounts and behind-the-scenes moments to argue that some of the encountered phenomena are more than misidentified lights. Corbell and veteran journalist George Knapp are central figures in the narrative, and the film stresses that many of the materials shown now are those that lawmakers have specifically requested be released.
What the documentary reveals
Corbell’s footage includes eight clips that align with the roster of 46 files sought by Congress, and the movie presents them with technical context and commentary. One sequence labeled FMV UAP displays a small cylinder gliding over mountainous terrain without apparent thrust or exhaust. Another piece, called ANAMORPHIS UAP, portrays a billowing, shapeshifting blob tracked on military radar. There is also a clip in which three lights travel in a coordinated triangle formation—identified in the film as FORMATION UAP—moving in sync without a detectable heat signature. Corbell pairs these images with radar overlays and expert reactions to underline that the material is not simply atmospheric anomaly footage.
The filmmaker and the disclosure movement
Lazovsky, who came from a narrative background, describes the project as evolving from skepticism to conviction, and the film shows that progression. Corbell’s role in bringing military footage into public view—and in helping whistleblowers reach lawmakers—forms a throughline. The title is drawn from a warning he says he received: “don’t kick a sleeping dog,” a metaphor Corbell uses for deeply compartmentalized programs tied to advanced technologies and alleged biologics. The documentary examines how compartmentalization limits who can access sensitive data, and it suggests that only a small group of cleared individuals are read into the most tightly held programs.
Secrecy, whistleblowers and risk
Scenes in the film depict the practical and emotional weight of disclosure work: sources afraid to be identified, clandestine meetings in congressional halls and the pressure of operating under constant scrutiny. Corbell recounts escorting a whistleblower disguised as part of his camera crew to protect the source’s identity, and Lazovsky explains he even recorded contingencies in case the project was interrupted. The documentary argues that the stakes are both personal and strategic: intelligence entities view whatever unknown capabilities may exist as potential national security advantages, and that posture shapes how information is shared—even to the extent of restricting what some elected officials can learn.
Politics, releases and what comes next
The political dimension is front and center. Representative Anna Paulina Luna, who chairs the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, has publicly celebrated recent Pentagon releases and urged further disclosures, saying more files will be made available. The documentary appears against the backdrop of a tranche of materials the government put out recently—materials that followed 28 videos released the prior week and which lawmakers say only scratch the surface of what Congress has requested. Luna has also criticized former AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick, alleging prior denials of specific records; Kirkpatrick has disputed those characterizations and warned that decontextualized releases can fuel speculation.
Whether the materials shown in Sleeping Dog will change policy or simply accelerate public curiosity remains an open question. The film makes a case for broader public access to government files and for transparent scientific discussion of anomalous phenomena, while also noting the national security concerns that drive secrecy. Available on multiple platforms after its theatrical opening on May 8 and digital release on May 12, the documentary positions itself as both an investigation into specific UAP clips and a larger argument about the limits of secrecy, the role of investigative journalism, and who gets to decide what the public is allowed to know.
