| Sea of Shadows | |
| Director: | Richard Ladkani[1] |
| Producer: | Wolfgang Knöpfler Walter Köhler |
| Starring: | Romel Eduardo Ledezma Abaroa Rafael Pacchiano Alamán Hector Capetillo Andrea Crosta and others |
| Music: | H. Scott Salinas[2] |
| Cinematography: | Richard Ladkani |
| Editing: | Georg Michael Fischer Verena Schönauer |
| Studio: | Terra Mater Factual Studios Appian Way Productions Malaika Pictures The Wild Lens Collective |
| Distributor: | National Geographic Documentary Films Fox Searchlight Pictures[3] (uncredited) |
| Runtime: | 104 minutes |
| Country: | Austria |
| Language: | English + Spanish |
| Gross: | $1,996 |
Sea of Shadows is a 2019 documentary about environmental activists (Sea Shepherd), the Mexican Navy, marine scientists and undercover investigators trying to prevent the extinction of the vaquita, a species of porpoise and the smallest whale in the world, by pulling gillnets, doing research, and fighting back Mexican cartels and Chinese mafia who are destroying ocean habitats in their brutal pursuit to harvest the swim bladder of the totoaba fish, known as the "cocaine of the sea".[4] [5] [6] [7] The 1 hour and 44 minutes long film is directed by Richard Ladkani.
Sea of Shadows premiered in Austria on September 20, 2019. It won the Sundance award for World Cinema Documentary and was acquired by the National Geographic Channel for broadcast The film received the Cinema for Peace International Green Film Award in 2020. [2][8] [9] "Conveying just how fraught and delicate conservation efforts can be, logistically and emotionally, an extraordinary sequence unfolds as a pursuit on the water, placing the viewer smack in the midst of it."