Richard Ladkani, an award-winning director and cinematographer, has worked on over fifty documentaries, as well as dozens of TV commercials. He generally enjoys wearing both hats, that of director and cinematographer, as he prefers to work with small crews in order to be closer to his characters.
Richard is dedicated to keep telling stories that matter. His most renowned productions include two eco-thrillers: “Sea of Shadows” (National Geographic Documentaries), depicting the exploitation of Mexico’s Sea of Cortéz by Mexican drug cartels and the Chinese mafia, driving the world’s smallest cetacean, the vaquita, to extinction; and “The Ivory Game“(Netflix), exposing the evil forces driving the imminent extinction of Africa’s elephants, which was short-listed for an Academy Award.
Further productions include: “Gas Monopoly”, a feature length investigative documentary on Europe’s dependence on gas from Russia and its consequences; “Jane’s Journey”, a documentary on the life of primate researcher Dr. Jane Goodall, which he photographed, and which was shortlisted for an Academy Award; “Vatican – The Hidden World”, a BBC/NatGeo/ARD/France2 co-production received numerous awards for best director and best photography; “The Devil’s Miner”, (BR/Arte/PBS), a character-driven film about Bolivian mining children, won 15 international awards and was released in cinemas around the world.
