SEA OF SHADOWS

Please join National Geographic for a reception after the screening.

Featuring everything from Mexican drug cartels to the Chinese Mafia, this environmental thriller is every bit as gripping and nail-biting 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. Trapped in nets used to catch the totoaba — a large fish whose bladders are highly prized in China for their supposed anti-aging properties — the vaquita gets tossed aside as collateral damage. While Mexican drug cartels seek to capitalize on this lucrative, illegal market, the Mexican government, conservationists and a famous TV reporter fight to save the vaquita. But with fewer than 10 vaquita left in the world, time is running out. Winner of the Audience Award in the Sundance World Cinema Documentary Competition. –Ken Jacobson