Richard Ladkani

Austria | Born in 1973

“We spent countless hours on planes,
boats and in cars, drank far too much whisky,
and laughed so much together.”

Richard Ladkani

Dame Jane Goodall was a British behavioral scientist who, through revolutionary studies of the primates closest to humans, completely redefined our understanding of the animal world. She proved that chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream Reserve can make and use tools, that they have emotions “like us,” and that they live within complex social structures. One scientific work that made Jane Goodall world-famous, The Chimpanzees of Gombe, became a standard reference in behavioral research. 

Her early fame gave Jane Goodall the opportunity to think even bigger. She founded the Jane Goodall Institute to spread the message of protecting great apes forever – and to inspire people around the world to commit themselves to the well-being of our planet.

Through the lens of filmmaker, photographer, and longtime friend Richard Ladkani, who accompanied Jane on her travels through 27 countries for a year until shortly before her death, we come to know the Jane behind the icon. On the one hand, there is Jane as pure inspiration, delivering charismatic speeches on stage as a UN Messenger of Peace, stirring her audiences to do what urgently needs to be done. But there is also a Jane known only to her closest friends and family at home in Bournemouth – a Jane who loves to crack jokes over a good glass of whisky.

In 2015, Richard Ladkani founded the film production company Malaika Pictures together with his wife Anita, and has shot more than 50 documentaries, eleven of them as director or co-director. Among them was an earlier film about and with Jane Goodall – Jane’s Journey – which was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2011, as were The Ivory Game in 2016 and most recently Yanuni – Voice of the Amazon – all produced by Leonardo DiCaprio. The filming of Yanuni gave Jane the opportunity to fulfill one of her last great wishes: to travel to the Amazon, where she met the film’s heroine, Indigenous leader Juma Xipaia – and became the godmother of her daughter, Yanuni.

Having celebrated her 90th birthday on April 3, 2024, Jane was well aware that her time on Earth was slowly coming to an end. From Los Angeles – the City of Angels – she departed on October 1, 2025, to “explore the universe.”