The Center for Investigative Reporting’s Documentary Film Wins an Emmy
The Center for Investigative Reporting’s documentary film The Grab won an Emmy on June 26 for its investigation into the battle to control the planet’s limited supply of food and water. The film, which is streaming on Hulu, won for outstanding documentary research and was nominated in three other categories: outstanding investigative documentary, best documentary, and outstanding promotional announcement for a documentary.
“At a time when climate change is threatening the world’s ability to provide enough food and water, The Grab offers a never-before-seen playbook into how companies and governments are maneuvering to profit off this scarcity and control resources around the world,” said Monika Bauerlein, CEO of the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR).
The film follows CIR reporter Nate Halverson over seven years across five continents as he investigates the global scramble for food and water resources—and the powerful interests hiding in the shadows. The team faced pushback investigating a story that some people did not want publicized. In one instance, the film crew was detained and ultimately deported from Zambia, where intelligence officials viewed their reporting as a national security threat. The film is directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, who helmed the 2013 breakout documentary Blackfish.
The Grab examines the consequences for those on the ground, including in Arizona, where a Saudi Arabian company bought several square miles of desert to grow hay for Middle Eastern dairy cows, draining aquifers and leaving locals with empty wells. The film also reveals how people in Zambia were forcibly removed from their ancestral land by foreign investors, losing their livelihoods and ability to feed their families.
“As it becomes increasingly difficult to get substantive, deeply reported documentaries funded and distributed, a project like this is a strong reminder of how crucial the support is of foundations and individual readers and listeners,” said Amanda Pike, director of film and TV at CIR Studios. “Stories that spotlight abuses of power must be available on the world’s largest platforms if we hope to inform the public and spark real change.”
CIR is the umbrella organization for Mother Jones, the radio show and podcast Reveal, the podcast More To The Story, and CIR Studios, its film and television division. Last year, CIR Studios’ film Victim/Suspect, which examined how sexual assault victims across the country are treated by police, also won an Emmy for outstanding documentary research and was nominated in two other categories.
