Trophy

In recent decades, big game hunting in Africa has expanded into an industry worth huge amounts of money that attracts great controversy, with defenders and critics involved in vehement arguments. The makers of Trophy were able to penetrate deep into this world. They attend an auction where mostly Americans bid vast sums for a license to kill one of the "big five" game animals. One of them claims that shooting animals is a God-given right. He goes on to shoot animals including an elephant, and dreams of the ultimate hunting trophy: a male lion. On his reservation, John Hume tries to protect 1,400 rhinos against poachers by sawing off their horns every two years. He's convinced that this will help save the rhino from extinction, and enters into a legal struggle with the government for the legal sale of horns in order to finance his care for these animals. With stunning images, engrossing hunting scenes and interviews, directors Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz give a complex impression of this "sport," one that poses more questions than it answers.