EXCLUSIVE: Winning an Emmy for October 7 doc We Will Dance Again was a moment to take stock for Emilio Schenker, the co-founder of MGM-backed Israeli studio Sipur.
While he was delighted to be recognized with a gong that all TV producers dream about winning, the moment was bittersweet as it came just 48 hours after the death of Sipur President Michael Peter Schmidt.
Schmidt was a legend of the international TV game, a hugely popular, larger-than-life personality who Schenker said was nicknamed “the oracle.”
“Michael was in this industry for 35 years and he never won an Emmy,” Schenker told Deadline, sitting down with us in a coffee shop in Soho earlier this month. “And he won his first Emmy 48 hours after he died. So it was bittersweet. We dedicated the Emmy to him. He dedicated so much time and energy to this project.”
More tragedy arose around the time of the Emmy win as the We Will Dance Again producer’s house was struck by a rocket fired from Iran and she subsequently spent several weeks in hospital. “All together it was a very emotional, hard moment,” said Schenker.
“Phase two”
Emilio Schenker. Image: Mark Harrison
Driven by backing from investor-advisors Gideon Tadmor and ex-CBS Entertainment chief Nancy Tellem, Bad Boy studio Sipur rebranded from Tadmor Entertainment several years back. The Emmy win subsequently came at a time when Schenker and Schmidt were advancing the global reach of Sipur, described by Schenker as “phase two” of the growth plan.
We can reveal that Sipur has been quietly boarding projects of late, including Hagai Levi World War Two series Etty as co-studio and James Vanderbilt’s Russell Crowe-starring epic Nuremberg as co-financier.
Exec produced by Isabelle Adjani and produced by Yael Fogel, Etty tells the extraordinary story of Etty Hillesum, a young Jewish woman who finds spiritual enlightenment amidst the darkness of the Nazi-occupied Netherlands.
The show will premiere at Venice and represents a bucket-list achievement for Schenker to work with Levi, who created HBO’s Our Boys. Schenker said the show could become part of a new breed of Holocaust project that tackles the tragedy from a new perspective.
“What Hagai brings to this project is a completely fresh angle and a unique artistic point of view that is absolutely stunning,” he added. “Hagai is the kind of artist whose work makes you think. I believe this project will draw a lot of attention.”
Schenker is closely involved with production of Etty, which is being sold by Newen Connect and will land at several European broadcasters, although Schenker stresses that Levi’s “creative vision is so clear that I try and give him as much space as I can.”
With Nuremberg, another World War Two project, Sipur’s contribution is financial.
Recently acquired by Sony Pictures Classics, James Vanderbilt’s movie stars Crowe, Rami Malek and Michael Shannon and will chronicle the true story of the eponymous trials held by the Allies against the defeated Nazi regime.
Schenker said: “We want to get involved in projects that are shooting and need an extra investor. Nuremberg is a huge movie and we entered that project at a late stage.”
Etty and Nuremberg neatly encapsulate Sipur’s international pivot. The studio, which recently renewed a first-look deal with MGM, has also made its first investment in the horror genre with Cristin Milioti-starrer Buddy and is a co-producer on Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire starring Al Pacino and Bill Skarsgård, on which Schenker is an EP.
“When we started this company, myself and Michael had big ambitions,” added Schenker. “2025 was the year that marked us starting to really do things outside of Israel.”
‘Magic triangle’
Schenker said Sipur’s “very interesting niche” is “building an IP machine that can create longlasting IP for a long time for a fraction of the fraction it would cost you to create that IP in the U.S. market.”
“We have an ability to tap into a ‘magic triangle’ by bringing funds from institutional investors, helping broadcasters create shows and getting the help of the creative community in Israel,” he added. “When we proved the model works [in Israel], our next step was to do the same in territories that are similar to Israel.”
He pointed to the original Israeli Euphoria as a neat exemplar. The show was created on a modest budget by Schenker’s friend Ron Leshem and was subsequently remade in the States, becoming a huge hit for HBO as a third season prepares to air. “Euphoria is an asset that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and it was created by Ron Leshem in Israel,” said Schenker.
Another Leshem series that Schenker was closely involved with is Bad Boy, which peppered dozens of Netflix top 10s when it was picked up by the streamer earlier this year. Based on the true life story of star Daniel Chen, the show follows Dean, who is imprisoned in a cruel juvenile detention facility. It is one of a number of collaborations Sipur has worked on with Peter Chernin’s North Road, which lends the studio international clout. The pair are also making Heart of a Killer starring Tehran’s Niv Sultan.
“For a show that cost a few hundred thousand dollars per episode Bad Boy has been a huge achievement,” said Schenker. “It has obviously had huge impact for us.” No decision has been made on Bad Boy’s future but Leshem and co-creator Hagar Ben-Asher are mapping out future seasons, Schenker said.
Emmy-winner We Will Dance Again, which was produced by American doc legend Susan Zirinsky and aired on Paramount+ in the U.S., has been similarly impactful.
The doc about the Nova Music Festival was the first project out the gate after that terrifying day on October 7 2023. “My team at first were cooking schnitzels for soldiers and wrapping candies,” said Schenker. “Eventually it felt like doing that project gave us meaning. It is a waste of time to fry schnitzels when we can do a movie.”
Nearly two years on, conflict is raging, some hostages have still not been returned and nearly 60,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Sipur, which means “story” in Hebrew, is pushing on. Schenker says “creating IP” remains the “North Star” and while “it is hard and challenging, I really believe in our business model.”
An even greater challenge, Schenker added, was dealing with the personal loss of his beloved President. “I miss him on a daily basis,” he added of Schmidt. “I didn’t think I would miss him so much. Every day I wake up and the first phone call I want to make is to say, ‘Hey Michael what’s up?’.”
Content shared from deadline.com.