Courtesy: theivorygame.com
Academy Award®-nominated director Kief Davidson, represented by Park Pictures, traces illegal ivory poaching through Africa and into China for sixteen months in the upcoming Netflix original documentary “The Ivory Game,” out Friday, November 4, 2016. Executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Ivory Game” reveals the inner workings of the destructive trade: from the poachers and burgeoning black market for “white gold” (ivory), to the militia who dedicates their lives to saving the ivory trade’s primary target, the endangered African elephant. With record numbers of elephants slain each year, despite careful protective efforts by government officials, the documentary sheds light on this critical point of decline for the noble and vulnerable species that may prove irreversible without action.
Click HERE to watch the trailer.
Courtesy: theivorygame.com
The high-octane documentary takes viewers through the entire ivory trade route from start to harrowing finish. Davidson shot the footage, sometimes at great personal risk, alongside front-line rangers and operatives, including Elisifa Ngowi, Head of Intelligence in Tanzania; Craig Millar, Head of Security in Kenya; Andrea Crosta, Head of Investigation in China; Hongxiang Huang, Chinese Activist; Ofir Drori, Undercover Investigator in Uganda; Ian Craig, Director of Conservation in Kenya; and Georgina Kamanga, Head of Intelligence for the Zambian Wildlife Authority. The team covertly tracks poaching from countries such as Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania to underground China—where they put their lives at risk exploring criminal connections—and all the way to the one mysterious enabler who “holds in his hands the fate of elephants.” Davidson leads interviews with both heroes and thieves involved, reminding viewers that ivory poaching is a complex web of problems, not easily solved.
Davidson is renowned in the film industry as an Academy Award®-nominated director of famed documentaries. He previously directed “A Lego Brickumentary” (2014) and “Open Heart” (2013), which was nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 85th Academy Awards. His debut feature “The Devil’s Miner” (2005) won awards at international film festivals including Tribeca, Hot Docs, Chicago and Woodstock, and won the Fipresci prize at the Toronto Film Festival (TIFF). Additional accolades include appearances at the Tribeca and Rotterdam Film Festivals, and wins at AFI, IDFA and Silver Docs.
Courtesy: theivorygame.com
The Ivory Game swept festivals internationally prior to its Netflix release, earning official selection for the Telluride Film Festival and TIFF. The film also garnered a WWF Golden Panda Award.
Click here to help the organizations present in the documentary and join the fight against illegal ivory trafficking.
About Park Pictures
Founded in 1998 by Executive Producer Jacqueline Kelman Bisbee and acclaimed filmmaker/cinematographer Lance Acord, Bicoastal/London-based Park Pictures has an auspicious track record of discovering and mentoring new talent in both the commercial and film spheres, and infusing all projects with big screen production values. Park Pictures has forged strong partnerships with agencies, studios and clients worldwide by engaging all members of its team in creative problem solving.
Park Pictures has earned the highest accolades for their international work, including an Oscar, an Emmy, and 18 Cannes Lions. Lance Acord has earned three DGA nominations for his commercial work and newly-signed directing duo The Mercadantes received a 2015 DGA nomination. Known for their story-driven film work, Park Pictures has been selected for Creativity’s “Production Company A-List” for nearly ten consecutive years. In 2015, co-founder Jacqueline Kelman Bisbee was selected for the 2015 Cannes Lions Film Craft jury and Advertising Age’s prestigious ‘Women to Watch’ honor.
Park Pictures’ feature division, headed by Producer Sam Bisbee, Jacqueline Kelman Bisbee and Lance Acord, has produced five features, all of which were selected for the Sundance Film Festival. In 2010, Park Pictures won an Academy Award for the company’s first narrative film, live-action short “The New Tenants,” starring Vincent D’Onofrio.