AWARDS
News & Documentary Emmy Awards (2 Wins, 4 Nominations):
Outstanding Direction: Documentary (Winner)
Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary (Winner)
Best Documentary
Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary
“As is his style, Heineman continues to offer multiple perspectives on the larger issues, while focusing on the people who keep getting caught in an endless cycle of violence and need.”
- Gabe Cohn, The New York Times
“Immediately puts you on the edge of your seat… Stories such as those told throughout this series need to be told, perhaps now more than ever…”
-Andrew Bundy, The Playlist
“A very human and heartbreaking look at the immigration crisis on our southern border.”
- Lulu Garcia-Navarro, NPR
“The humanitarian crisis at the border gets an immersive, on-the-ground look.”
- Inkoo Kang, The Hollywood Reporter
SYNOPSIS
In the second season of his award-winning SHOWTIME docu-series THE TRADE, Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning Director/Producer Matthew Heineman focuses on human smuggling, human trafficking, and migrant communities seeking a safer existence. We follow Central Americans on their journey to the United States (and back home after deportation), the people who get paid outrageous amounts of money to attempt to smuggle them across the border, and those who try to obstruct these illicit and often deadly activities. THE TRADE is a timely, character-driven, emotional study on human vulnerability, exploitation, and fear, exposing some very bleak aspects of the American Dream and the fate of people who have no choice but to chase it.
DISTRIBUTION
THE TRADE S2 is a four part docu-series that premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and is scheduled to debut on SHOWTIME March 6th, 2020. The first season of THE TRADE covered the opioid epidemic and was named Best Documentary Series at the 2018 International Documentary Association Awards.