THE IVORY GAME, a documentary, explores the illegal ivory trade and the fight against elephant poaching, tracking wildlife trafficking from Africa to China. Over 150 days, filmmakers joined intelligence teams in Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, and Uganda, uncovering efforts to save elephants by targeting China’s legal ivory trade. Andrea Crosta, a key figure in the film, emphasized the crucial role of China’s president in determining the species’ fate.
Premiering at the 2015 Telluride Film Festival, THE IVORY GAME gained international acclaim, winning awards like the Cinema for Peace Award and the Golden Panda. It was also a 2016 Academy Award contender. The film’s simultaneous release on Netflix, advocated by Leonardo diCaprio and Jane Goodall, aimed to urgently highlight the elephants’ plight. This release led to significant developments in China.
Post-release, credible sources in China indicated the film’s impact, leading to a December 2016 announcement by China’s president to ban domestic ivory trade within a year. Following this, THE IVORY GAME opened the Beijing Film Festival, where it was honored as Best Film. By the end of 2016, China implemented a complete ban on domestic ivory trade, marking a pivotal moment in the film’s influence and in the global fight against elephant poaching.
