As director and cinematographer, RICHARD LADKANI has gained international recognition in the feature documentary category for his award winning films, The NETFLIX Original "The Ivory Game", executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, was shortlisted for an Academy Award. This investigative thriller-doc on the illegal trade of ivory and the extinction of elephants had its world premiers at the prestigious Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals and won multiple international awards. In early 2015, Richard and his wife Anita Ladkani founded Malaika Pictures, named after their firstborn daughter, to produce films that shine a bright spotlight on the most pressing environmental and political issues that face our world today. Their latest project in development is a scripted feature film based on the bestselling book "City of Thorns", on life in the living hell of Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world on the Kenyan-Somali border, torn between terrorism, NGOs and global political threats. His most renowned films include “Escape over the Himalayas”, on the plight of Tibetan children escaping their homeland; “The Devil's Miner”, a harrowing look at Bolivian silver mines, which won 22 awards; “Jane's Journey”, a portrait of conservationist Jane Goodall which was shortlisted for the Oscars; “Vatican –The Hidden World”, with unprecedented access into the secret world of the Catholic Church; and “Gas Monopoly”, a political thriller-doc on Europe's dependence on Russian gas. The Austrian filmmaker gained most of his early experience in New York City, where he lived for more than six years before moving to Germany. His you-are-there approach to filmmaking, both as director and cinematographer, has given his films a special handwriting, combining cinematic visuals with intimate storytelling. Richard has taught filmmaking workshops at prestigious film schools, been invited as jury member for international festivals and lives in Munich, Germany, with his wife and two daughters.