Trophy, a documentary about hunting by Israeli director Shaul Schwarz (with Christina Clusiau), was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Nature Documentary at the 2019 News and Documentary Emmys, which were announced in New York on Tuesday night.
Trophy, an in-depth look at the big-game hunting, breeding and wildlife conservation industries in the US and Africa, was produced by Israeli cable network, YES Docu, with other companies, and was distributed by CNN. It was co-produced by Alon Schwarz, Shaul's brother, and was edited by Halil Efrat.
The movie examines the controversial world of exotic animal hunting, where customers invest a fortune to enrich their private collection with trophies made from zebras, lions and rhinos, or use the animals' bodies as raw material to trade. The film also raises a controversial subject, discussing whether it is possible that the continued existence of this industry may ensure the survival of endangered species.
Another Israeli film, The Oslo Diaries by Mor Loushy & Daniel Sivan, was nominated in the Outstanding Historical Documentary category but lost to King in the Wilderness, a documentary about Martin Luther King Jr.
YES has won two previous Emmy documentary awards, for Google Baby in the Outstanding Science and Technology Programming category in 2011, and Forever Pure, about the extremist fans of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team, for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary, in 2018.
One of the Schwarz brothers' previous films, Aida's Secrets, won the Audience Award at the Docaviv Film Festival.