Double Emmy wins for The Cave

The prestigious award for ‘Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking’ was handed out on Saturday to Danish Documentary producers Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Dyekjær, while the ‘Outstanding Cinematography for a Non-Fiction was shared between Muhammed Khair Al Shami, Ammar Suleiman and Mohammed Eyad. 

The Cave directed by Feras Fayyad, follows the heroic work of doctor Amani Ballour and her female colleagues who tirelessly treat casualties of the Syrian war in an underground hospital while battling systemic sexism. The film has received global recognition since its launch at the Toronto Film Festival 2019 where it won the Grolsch People’s Choice Award and it was Oscar nominated earlier this year.

Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Dyekjær said about their Emmy award: “We have been on a long journey with the film, which was made under difficult conditions. With this Emmy we stand at a significant milestone, and we are happy we had the chance to tell this important story to the world. Dr. Amani and her staff of strong women and men show us there is hope for the future. We share this award with them, while dedicating it to all those who have the courage to stand up for the weak and fight against the atrocities that take place every single day in Syria.”

The film was produced by Danish Documentary, in association with TV2 Danmark, National Geographic, IMS International Media Support, Doha Filminstitute, SWR, Yun Sat Yen Foundation, Docs Up Fund and Normandie for Peace. Dogwoof handles sales.

Elsewhere, the Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson, won an Emmy Award Outstanding Music Composition for the Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian (Disney Plus). The L.A.-based composer was Oscar winner last year for his work on the Black Panther soundtrack.

The 72^nd Primetime Emmy Awards marked the triumph of Canadian comedy show Schitt’s Creek produced for Pop TV which swept the floor in the Emmy comedy categories with 9 wins, while HBO dominated the drama and limited series categories with 11 wins for Watchmen and 7 wins for Succession including Best Drama series.

HBO was the top Emmy winner with 30 statuettes, followed by Netflix with 21 wins.