How 'AIDS profiteering' doc 'Cashing Out' brought a queer filmmaker closer to his dad

Cashing Out uncovers multiple uncomfortable truths. The first being the premise: In the early days of the AIDS crisis, before life-saving medications, investors bought out AIDS victims' life insurance policies from them. When the sick person died, the investor received the insurance payout. Another uncomfortable truth came from the director, Matt Nadel, whose father was one of the early investors in this financial practice.

The documentary, produced by The New Yorker and executive-produced by actor Matt Bomer and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars winner Angeria Paris VanMicheals, was recently shortlisted in the Best Documentary Short category for this year's Academy Awards ceremony. With this new achievement under their belt, Matt and his father Phil look back and unpack why they felt it was important to tell this story now.

"Before directing Cashing Out, I had never put myself or my family on camera," Matt said in a statement. "I was worried about how it would feel to ask my dad uncomfortable questions about his past, how those conversations might strain our relationship, and how audiences would judge his role in an industry that profited from AIDS deaths. What I didn’t anticipate, though, was that making Cashing Out would bring us closer."

Matt went on to say that he and his dad have very different politics. "He has always been a free-market, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps kind of Florida man," the director added. "But as he participated in the film and, for the first time in decades, revisited his years in the viatical settlement industry, I watched something soften in him."

(L-R): Phil Nadel and "Cashing Out" director Matt NadelCourtesy of Matt Nadel

The director continued and shared a quote from one of his dad's interviews in the film that stuck with him. "In one interview, he said, 'I realized that people shouldn’t have to sell their life insurance policies to live.' It’s a simple statement — but coming from him, it marked a quiet yet meaningful shift. The process reaffirmed my belief in the power of documentary to cut across political divisions and unify us around shared human concerns — like healthcare, dignity, and a meaningful social safety net."

In a Q&A with Oscar-winning filmmaker Caroline Waterlow (O.J.: Made in America), debuted exclusively with Out, the director's father, Phil, shared that the film helped him change his perspective on this industry all these years later: "When I made the investment, I thought 'OK, this is a great solution that the capitalist system has come up with to solve a problem for particular individuals.' What I didn't take into account to the same degree back then was the bigger picture about society and the lack of a safety net that most people experience."

Phil added, "That was decades ago, and you would think we would have learned and corrected. But instead, today we're living in a world where that safety net is shrinking further." He ended by saying he appreciates that his son, as a filmmaker, is bringing this issue into the spotlight to show that society should work together to protect the most vulnerable individuals.

Cashing Out can now be watched (for free!) on Fandango at Home and The New Yorker website. It's also available to rent/buy on Prime Video.