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TROPHY

Synopsis

This in-depth look into the powerhouse industries of big-game hunting, breeding, and wildlife conservation in the U.S. and Africa unravels the complex consequences of treating animals as commodities.

The Filmmakers

Shaul Schwarz Director

Shaul Schwarz is a filmmaker and award-wining photojournalist. His debut documentary NARCO CULTURA premiered at Sundance in 2013. Schwarz is a regular photographic contributor to Time and National Geographic and has directed content for Discovery Channel, History Channel, and CNN. In 2016, he directed the Emmy-nominated web series, A Year in Space, produced with Time Magazine's Red Border Films, and co-directed the documentary AIDA'S SECRETS. He is the founder of Reel Peak Films.

Christina Clusiau Co-Director

Christina Clusiau is a documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and photojournalist based in Brooklyn, NY. Christina co-founded Reel Peak Films in 2013, a production company specializing in short and long-form documentary films, commercials and television content made with cinematic quality and journalistic integrity. Christina shot the Emmy-nominated web series, A Year in Space, in partnership with Time Magazine's Red Border Films, as well as the feature documentary AIDA's SECRETS which premiered at Hot Docs in 2016.

Lauren Haber Producer

Lauren Haber is an independent producer based in Brooklyn. As head of film and television for Parts & Labor, she oversaw the production and development of critically-acclaimed films such as Robert Eggers' THE WITCH, Josh Marston's COMPLETE UNKNOWN, Matt Ross's FRANK & LOLA, Ira Sachs ' LOVE IS STRANGE, David Lowery's AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS, Shaul Schwarz's NARCO CULTURA, and more.

She is currently in post-production on Shaul Schwarz's documentary TROPHY and Russell Harbaugh's debut feature LOVE AFTER LOVE starring Chris O'Dowd and Andie MacDowell, and developing several projects for both film and television.

Festivals & Awards

Sundance Film Festival

2017

Official Selection

SXSW TV & Film Festival

2017

Official Selection

CPH:DOX

2017

Official Selection

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

2017

Official Selection

Sheffield Doc/Fest

2017

Official Selection

News & Emmy Documentary Awards

2019

Winner - Outstanding Nature Documentary

Critics' Choice Documentary Award

2017

Nominee - Best Sports Documentary

Reviews

TROPHY, an extraordinary documentary from Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau, is filled with astonishing sights...Layered, thoughtful and infinitely curious, TROPHY is shot so simply and beautifully, and with such nonjudgmental calm, that it’s easy to miss the ingenuity of its construction.”

-Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times

A boggling look inside the world of big game trophy hunting...Mind-bending.”

-Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times

Will enrage, enlighten and confound in equal measure.”

-Nick Schager, Variety

The movie is richer in every way for its tangled sympathies. It will leave you angry, sick, and confused—but not smug.”

-David Edelstein, Vulture