“Torn,” a documentary exploring the widespread campaign to display Israeli hostage posters across New York City following the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, has received a New York Emmy Award in the cultural documentary category.

Israeli filmmaker Nimrod Shapira directed the film, which was shot during the first three months of the war. Through interviews with 10 New York residents, the documentary examines the heated disputes that erupted as posters featuring hostages were put up, defaced and torn down across the city.

What began as an effort to raise awareness about the hostages became a flashpoint in New York’s broader political and social divisions, with the posters serving as a symbol in competing narratives surrounding the war.

Accepting the recognition, Shapira thanked the academy and explained that the project grew out of his own experience witnessing hostage posters being ripped down in the city he calls home.

“As the paper was torn, so was the social fabric of the city I call home,” Shapira said.

He described the documentary as an exploration of issues extending beyond the posters themselves, including freedom of speech, cancel culture, ideological echo chambers and the consequences of shutting down opposing voices instead of engaging in dialogue.

Shapira said he wanted to capture not only the physical destruction of the posters but also the damage he believes the controversy inflicted on relationships and community life throughout the city.

The award was presented at the 69th annual New York Emmy Awards, organized by the New York chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The ceremony recognizes excellence in television and media across New York State, as well as parts of New Jersey and Connecticut.