Featuring everything from Mexican drug cartels to the Chinese Mafia this environmental thriller is every bit as gripping as any pulp novel but with real world consequences for the imperiled vaquita (the world’s smallest whale) and for local fisherman in the Sea of Cortez.
Directed by SEA OF SHADOWS
Starring Romel Eduardo Ledezma Abaroa, Rafael Pacchiano Alamán, Hector Capetillo
Genre(s) Documentary Film
One hundred fifty-nine features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 92nd Academy Awards®. Films submitted in the Documentary Feature category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture.
“It required great courage to make this film: Richard Ladkani and Andrea Crosta, both good friends of mine, risked their lives tracking down and investigating both the Chinese and Mexican cartels involved. We must try to save the vaquita, because every species matters. I hope this film can inspire real action, before it is too late.”
Jane Goodall
The International Documentary Association (IDA) announced the 35th Annual IDA Documentary Awards Nominees along with the Courage Under Fire Award honoree Waad Al-Kataeb, director and producer of For Sama. For the first time, the IDA will present an award for Best Director and, notably, all of the nominated films have female directors.
DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival, announced the full lineup for its expanded tenth anniversary edition, running November 6-15 at the IFC Center in Greenwich Village and Chelsea’s SVA Theatre and Cinépolis Chelsea. The 2019 festival includes 136 feature-length documentaries among over 300 films and events overall, making this landmark year DOC NYC’s biggest edition yet.
The 22nd SCAD Savannah Film Festival, presented by Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), will showcase a record total of 159 films, including 35 narrative films, 15 documentary films and 109 shorts, from October 26 to November 2.
The Heartland International Film Festival announced the official selections for its 28th edition, taking place October 10-20. Marielle Heller’s Tom Hanks’ starrer A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD was chosen as the Opening Night Gala film, and Destin Daniel Cretton’s JUST MERCY will screen as the Closing Night Gala selection. Noah Baumbach’s MARRIAGE STORY is set to be the Centerpiece Screening, and Fernando Meirelles’ THE TWO POPES will be the Showcase Screening.
The 15th Zurich Film Festival rolls out the green carpet from September 26 to October 6, 2019, with over 170 films from 58 countries. Among them are more films by women directors than ever before.
AFI DOCS has revealed its full slate of films for the 2019 festival with women dominating selections – 68% of slate features female producers, and 48% directors. The 17th edition will showcase 72 films representing 17 countries and runs June 19 to 23 in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD.
Mountainfilm’s 2019 festival takes place May 24 to 27, showcasing some 150 documentaries. Films include Changing the Game, a masterfully told story of three transgender high school athletes navigating the complex world of sports and gender; Any One of Us, a heart-rending film about a professional mountain biker recovering from a devastating spinal cord injury; The Weight of Water, which chronicles blind kayaker Erik Weihenmayer’s inspiring attempt to kayak the Grand Canyon and 17 Blocks, an astonishing verité documentary that follows a Washington, D.C., family over two decades as they wrestle with addiction, loss and hope.
AFI DOCS 2019 will open with the world premiere of HBO’s TRUE JUSTICE: BRYAN STEVENSON’S FIGHT FOR EQUALITY, directed by Peter Kunhardt, George Kunhardt and Teddy Kunhardt, and will close with RAISE HELL: THE LIFE & TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS, directed by Janice Engel. AFI DOCS runs June 19–23, 2019, in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD.
Hola Mexico Film Festival will close with 11th edition on June 8th with the Los Angeles premiere of MIRREYES VS GODINEZ (MIRREYES CONTRA GODINEZ), a comedic social critique on Mexico’s polarized society, directed by Chava Cartas. The film stars Regina Blandón and Daniel Tovar and is produced by Francisco González Compeán and written by María Hinojos.
