Richard Ladkani
Born (1973-07-21) July 21, 1973
Austria
NationalityAustrian
Occupations
  • Director
  • Cinematographer
OrganizationMalaika Pictures
Notable workThe Devil's Miner
The Ivory Game
Sea of Shadows
SpouseAnita Ladkani
Children
  • Liah Felicia
  • Maya Malaika

Richard Ladkani (born July 21, 1973) is an independent Austrian director and cinematographer known for documentary films such as The Ivory Game and Sea of Shadows. Ladkani has received numerous awards for his documentaries, including the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, the Cinema for Peace Award (Berlin), the FIPRESCI Award and was nominated for the DGA Awards, Cinema Eye Honors, an Emmy, the IDA Awards and many others. The Ivory Game and Jane's Journey were both shortlisted for an Academy Award. Since 2020, he's been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars) Documentary Branch.

In 2015, Richard Ladkani and his wife Anita founded the film production company Malaika Pictures.

Early life

Richard Ladkani was born in Beirut, Lebanon in July 1973 and grew up in Baden near Vienna.[1] At the age of 18, Ladkani completed an apprenticeship as a photographer in Paris. Subsequently, he spent several years travelling through South America and Asia as a freelance photojournalist. He presented his travels as multivision slide shows.[2] In 1996, he attended film school at the Maine Media Workshops in Rockport, Maine, United States and soon after moved to New York City to start a career in film.[2][3]

Career

Ladkani's first award-winning film was Escape over the Himalayas (in German: Flucht über den Himalaya), which he shot as cinematographer and co-directed with Maria Blumencron. The documentary short was produced by Tellux Film on behalf of ZDF, one of Germany’s major public television broadcasters. The film was nominated for Best Documentary at the German TV Awards and won the Axel-Springer-Preis for young journalists.[4] Since then, Ladkani has worked as both director and cinematographer on numerous documentaries including My Vietnam, The Devil's Miner, Vatican – The Hidden World, Gas Monopoly and Killerflu amongst others.[5]

As cinematographer on Jane's Journey, he accompanied the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Jane Goodall, on her travels around the globe. During the year-long production, Goodall encouraged Ladkani to focus his future films on environmental and social issues.[6] Ladkani later created eco-thrillers such as The Ivory Game, Sea of Shadows and the Disney+ series Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold. All films related to the extinction of species, the destruction of ecosystems or climate change.[5][6]

Jane Goodall supported both The Ivory Game and Sea of Shadows as an honorary ambassador, lending her voice to the promotion of the documentaries.[7]

in 2015, Ladkani and his wife Anita founded Malaika Pictures, named after their firstborn daughter, Maya Malaika Ladkani.[8] In 2017, the company optioned the screen rights to the bestselling book City of Thorns by Ben Rawlence.[9] The Ivory Game, Sea of Shadows and Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold were all produced in association with Malaika Pictures.[5]

In 2020, Richard Ladkani became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Documentary Branch, which awards the Oscars every year.[10][11]

Escape over the Himalayas (2001)

Escape over the Himalayas, co-directed by Richard Ladkani and Maria Blumencron, documents the escape of six Tibetan children over the snow passes of the Himalayas to Dharamsala in northern India, where the four girls and two boys find shelter in a Tibetian SOS Children's Village and are welcomed by the Dalai Lama. The documentary was broadcast on ZDF and won fifteen international awards, such as the Axel Springer Award for young journalists for best documentary 2001.[4][12]

The Devil's Miner (2005)

The Devil's Miner is a 2005 documentary directed by Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson. The film focuses on Basilio Vargas, a fourteen-year-old Bolivian boy who works in the silver mines near the city of Potosí with his twelve-year-old brother Bernardino. The film illustrates the daily life of the miners, their community, beliefs and superstitions, as well as the inhumane working conditions in the mines.[13][14][15]

The Devil's Miner was awarded the International Film Critics Prize FIPRESCI at the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto, was nominated for the European Film Award and received and honorable mention at the German Camera Award.[2][16]

A Powerful Noise (2007)

This documentary directed by Tom Cappello and shot by Richard Ladkani and Nick Higgins follows three women from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mali and Vietnam who fight against ignorance, poverty, oppression, and ethnic strife. Hanh from Vietnam founded a support group for people living with HIV; Madame Urbain from Mali advocates for the education of young women in her rural hometown; and Ms Markovic from Bosnia and Herzegovina presents her plan for an agricultural cooperative to create economic opportunities for Bosnian and Serbian women.[17] The documentary was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008.[18]

Killerflu 2008

The film Killerflu 2008, written and co-directed by Bärbel Jacks and Richard Ladkani, was shot as a fictional documentary flashback from 2010 on the course of an influenza pandemic. The H5N1 avian flu virus mutates into a dangerous pathogen as it spreads around the globe. The film is less concerned with the victims than the side effects of the catastrophe. There are demonstrations in front of hospitals, hostage-taking in medicine depots and looting of pharmacies. Politicians enrich themselves by selling drugs that reduce the risk of infection until a vaccine is developed.[19] Some scenes were filmed with mobile phone cameras, others with helmet, surveillance, and thermal imaging cameras.[19]

The Most Secret Place on Earth (2008)

The Most Secret Place on Earth is a 2007 documentary directed by Marc Eberle and shot by Richard Ladkani. The film focuses on the Secret War in Laos, which took place at the same time as the Vietnam War, and is considered the biggest war crime of the Vietnam War era by critics.[20] With partially previously unpublished CIA archive material, Marc Eberle tells the story of this war, which in many ways became the precursor for today's American warfare. Contemporary witnesses such as former officers and pilots of the CIA and the Hmong army, intelligence experts and journalists tell of the consequences of this war. For this film, Eberle and Ladkani were the first Western journalists since 1975 to be able to visit Long Tieng, where the CIA built its headquarters in 1962.[20][21]

The documentary was shown at several Film Festivals, such as the Dok Leipzig, Nordic Film Days and One World Film Festival[22] and premiered in German movie theaters in May 2009.[21]

Vatican – The Hidden World (2010)

Vatican – The Hidden world is a documentary written and directed by Richard Ladkani. The film educates about the Vatican through its employees, including the Pope's personal photographer Francesco Sforza, his bodyguard, the journalist Gudrun Seiler and the altar boy Valentino Dumitrana. Dumitrana realized after two years that he did not want to become a priest, but instead has been granted the wish to be allowed to serve the Pope himself one day.[23] Ladkani received a permit to film the Necropolis underneath St. Peter's Basilica. He was able to fly across the Vatican for aerial photography and fly a drone inside the Sistine Chapel.[24]

The film was broadcast on January 6, 2011 on the German channel ARD[23] and soon after on National Geographic and France 2.[24]

Jane's Journey (2010)

Jane's Journey is a biographical documentary directed by Lorenz Knauer. Knauer decided on Ladkani as a cinematographer after seeing his work on the documentary The Devil's Miner. Ladkani initially declined because he was due to become a father and the filming was spread over one year and included 100 days of travel, but his wife Anita Ladkani persuaded him to undertake the project.[25] The documentary follows the primatologist Jane Goodall, who conducted ground-breaking research on chimpanzees in Africa and is still active as a conservationist in 2023. The film chronicles Goodall's field research and explores the challenges she faces as a woman in the scientific world, documenting her ongoing efforts in environmental protection around the globe.[26]

The film was awarded with the Cinema for Peace Award in Berlin[27] and was shortlisted for the 2012 Academy Awards.[28][29]

Gas Monopoly (2011)

Gas Monopoly, a reference to the board game Monopoly, is a documentary directed by Richard Ladkani. Following the 2009 Russian-Ukrainian gas crisis, the film follows journalist Martin Leidenfrost exploring critical questions such as how to source the urgently needed natural gas and identifying possible suppliers. Top managers, ministers, and lobbyists in this billion-dollar business are introduced, as well as the development and construction of fields, terminals, and pipelines. The stories told in the documentary take place in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Qatar, Russia, and in Brussels.[30][31]

The film was produced in Austria in 2011.[31]

The Ivory Game (2016)

The Ivory Game is a feature documentary exposing the criminal networks behind the poaching of African elephants, related to the ivory trade in China and Hong Kong.[32] The film was co-produced by Terra Mater Film Studios and Vulcan Productions, in association with Malaika Pictures and Leonardo DiCaprio's production company Appian Way.[33]

Directors Richard Ladkani, Kief Davidson and their team filmed for 16 months to uncover the global network of the ivory trade. In the process, the team was exposed to mortal danger multiple times while researching and filming on location.[34][35][36] Filming took place in several African and Asian countries.[35]

The Ivory Game won three awards at the International Nature Film Festival Green Screen, as well as the Golden Panda and the Theatrical Award at the 2016 Wildscreen festival.[34][37] Furthermore, the film was shortlisted for an Oscar in 2016[6] and was honored as Best International Feature Documentary at the Beijing International Film Festival.[38] The film helped push the Chinese government to ban the legal trade of ivory as of January 1, 2018.[34]

The Ivory Game premiered at Telluride Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival[38] and launched on Netflix on November 4, 2016.[39]

Sea of Shadows (2019)

Sea of Shadows is an award-winning 2019 documentary film that depicts the destructive impact of humans on the marine ecosystem of the Sea of Cortez in the Gulf of California, highlighting the links between wildlife crime, global security and economic instability.[7][40]

Directed by Richard Ladkani and executive-produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Sea of Shadows is a Terra Mater production in association with Malaika Pictures and Appian Way. Co-directors and associate producers are Sean Bogle and Matthew Podolsky. Shot over several months in 2018, the film is set in the Gulf of California on the Mexican coast, where illegal fishermen use giant gillnets and criminal methods to hunt the rare totoaba fish, whose swim bladder has a huge market value in China.[41][42] Gillnet fishing also threatens the critically endangered and similarly sized vaquita marina, the smallest cetacean on earth. In August 2023, the World Whaling Commission issued the first ever extinction alert on the vaquita.[43]

Ladkani follows investigative journalists, environmental activists, undercover intelligence agents and marine biologists in their fight to save a species whose disappearance is a metaphor for man's overexploitation of nature.[41][44][45]

The film won the Audience Award for world cinema documentary at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019 and was released by National Geographic Documentary Films on July 12, 2019.[5][46][47]

Filmography

Year Title Director Cinematographer Notes
2000 Escape over the Himalayas Yes Yes Documentary short
2002 Monasteries of the Danube Rivers No Yes Television series
2004 My Vietnam Yes Yes Documentary film
2004 Die heilige Lanze – Schicksalsspeer der Mächtigen No Yes Documentary film
2005 The Devil's Miner Yes Yes Documentary film
2005 Under Foreign Command No Yes Documentary short
2005 Beyond Samarkand No Yes Documentary short
2006 Kallawaya – The Andean Healer Yes Yes Documentary short
2007 Killerflu 2008 Yes Yes Docu-Drama
2008 A Powerful Noise No Yes Documentary film
2009 Under the Spell of Horses No Yes Television series
2009 The Most Secret Place on Earth No Yes Documentary film
2010 Jane's Journey No Yes Biographical film
2011 Gas Monopoly Yes Yes Documentary film
2011 Race to the South Pole No Yes Documentary film
2011 Vatican – The Hidden World Yes Yes Documentary film
2013 Bavaria! Yes Yes Television series
2016 The Ivory Game Yes Yes Documentary film
2019 Sea of Shadows Yes Yes Documentary film
2022 Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold Yes Yes Television series

References

  1. ↑ "Zur Person" (2019-09-21). Die Presse (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  2. 1 2 3 "Richard Ladkani". Deutscher Kamerapreis (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  3. ↑ "Richard Ladkani". IFFR. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  4. 1 2 "Flucht über den Himalaya". Tellux Film (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Richard Ladkani". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  6. 1 2 3 Viahera, Katerina (2020-07-15). "Klimaaktivist Richard Ladkani". Generationblue (in German). Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management|. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  7. 1 2 Tangcay, Jazz (2019-12-10). "Jane Goodall, Leonardo DiCaprio-Backed Doc 'Sea of Shadows' Spotlights Vaquita Extinction Threat". Variety. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  8. ↑ "Biography". Richard Ladkani. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  9. ↑ Fussi, Andreas (2019-03-31). "Richard Ladkani am Weg zu Oscars". Niederösterreichische Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  10. ↑ Thompson, Anne (2020-06-30). "The Academy Invites 819 New Members, Including Awkwafina, Cynthia Erivo, Ari Aster, and More". IndieWire. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  11. ↑ "Academy invites 819 to membership". Oscars. 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  12. ↑ "Escape over the Himalaya". www.richardladkani.com. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  13. ↑ Sterneborg, Anke (2005-12-06). "Im reichen Berg". "Süddeutsche Zeitung" (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  14. ↑ Hummel, Katrin (2005-12-02). "Kino: Kinder im Teufelsberg". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  15. ↑ Richards, Keith John (2008-04-10). "The Devil's Miner, a film by Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani". North American Congress on Latin America. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  16. ↑ "The Devil's Miner (2005) Preise & Festivals". Mubi (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  17. ↑ "A Powerful Noise". Tribecafilm. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  18. ↑ "A Powerful Noise". Mubi. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  19. 1 2 Gehringer, Thomas (2007-09-29). "Im Film Killergrippe 2008 bricht eine Epidemie aus". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  20. 1 2 Vater, Tom (2009-04-06). "The Most Secret Place on Earth. The CIA's Covert War in Laos". Tom Vater. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  21. 1 2 "Amerikas Geheimer Krieg in Laos". Spielfilm (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  22. ↑ "The Most Secret Place on Earth". German Documentaries. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  23. 1 2 Leicht, Robert (2011-01-05). "Hausbesuch beim Papst". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  24. 1 2 "Vatican – The Hidden World". Live Production. 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  25. ↑ "Kino-Doku Jane's Journey". Professional Production. 24 (234): 1pp. 2010-08-01. ISSN 0932-0393.
  26. ↑ "Jane's Journey – Die Lebensreise der Jane Goodall". Filmdienst (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  27. ↑ Fussi, Andreas (2020-03-05). "Friedenspreis für Badener Filmemacher". Niederösterreichische Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  28. ↑ Brunick, Paul (2011-09-15). "Jane's Journey". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  29. ↑ "Filmproduzent aus Unterfranken auf Oscarkurs". Die Welt (in German). 2012-01-23. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  30. ↑ "Grand Monopoly du gaz". Film-documentaire (in French). Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  31. 1 2 "Gas Monopoly". Filmdienst (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  32. ↑ Jaworowski, Ken (2016-11-03). "Review: The Ivory Game Follows the Fight to Protect Elephants". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  33. ↑ Thompson, Anne (2016-12-21). "'The Ivory Game' Co-Director on Elephants, Leonardo DiCaprio and China". IndieWire. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  34. 1 2 3 Peters, Arne (2017-09-18). "The Ivorys Game räumt ab". Eckenförder Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  35. 1 2 Back, Armand (2016-11-15). "The Ivory Game". Tageblatt (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  36. ↑ Abele, Robert (2016-09-02). "'The Ivory Game' Telluride Review: Urgent Documentary About Elephant Killing Is a Roar for Action". TheWrap. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  37. ↑ "Terra Mater Factual Studios gewinnt mit "The Ivory Game" beim Wildscreen Festival". Der Standard (in Austrian German). 2016-10-17. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  38. 1 2 "'The Ivory Game' wins Beijing International Film Festival". Terra Mater Studios. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  39. ↑ Goos, Hauke (2016-10-28). "Endspiel für den Elefanten". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  40. ↑ „TV-Tipps“ (2020-12-23). Tiroler Tageszeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  41. 1 2 Renner, Andreas; Hentschel, Joachim (2020-09-12). "Mann für Morgen". Focus (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  42. ↑ Turan, Kenneth (2019-07-10). "Review: Eco-crisis documentary Sea of Shadows lives up to its sinister title". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  43. ↑ "First ever Extinction Alert from the IWC: the vaquita porpoise". International Whaling Commission. 2023-08-07. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  44. ↑ Wunder, Jörg (2020-07-23). "Dokumentarfilm". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  45. ↑ Bentley, Jean (2019-11-07). "The Director of 'Sea of Shadows' Faced Down Cartels to Show the Fight to Save the World's Smallest Porpoise". IndieWire. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  46. ↑ Daun, Anne (2020-07-23). "Empört euch". Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  47. ↑ McNary, Dave (2019-02-04). "Sundance: National Geographic Nabs Leonardo DiCaprio-Produced Documentary 'Sea of Shadows'". Variety. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
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