Written by new-contact on Feb 13, 2014. Posted in Production News

Moonlighting films footballer Didier Drogba in Turkey and Kenya for Windhoek Lager

Moonlighting doubled filming locations in Turkey for Africa in a new spot for Windhoek Lager that also involved shooting in Kenya and South Africa. The Journey shows football star Didier Drogba being inspired to dribble a ball across African landscapes on his way to a packed stadium.

Given that the production schedule was largely dictated by Drogba’s availability, Moonlighting travelled to the Ivorian star’s Istanbul base – he plays for Turkish team Galatasary SK – to double parts of the city for African locations. Istanbul’s winter weather conditions were among the larger challenges of this leg of the shoot.

“It was freezing cold and raining which made it difficult!” recalls producer Shayne Brookstein: “There was a below-freezing wind chill and we were shooting on the Black Sea with extras filming in African dress as if it were hot, plus Didier in shorts!”

The spot’s African village, a collection of remote African roads and the finale’s stadium were among the locations found in Turkey. Filming then shifted to Malindi in Kenya, which was used as a practical double for Ghana, before South Africa was used as a stand-in for British locations, while also providing a striking cliff-top scene.

“Our last shoot day in Istanbul was pushed by a day because of Didier’s schedule,” Brookstein comments, “but we could not then push the shoot days in Kenya or South Africa so we effectively lost a day of prep in Kenya."

There was a below-freezing wind chill and we were shooting on the Black Sea with extras filming in African dress as if it were hot, plus Didier in shorts!

Shayne Brookstein, Producer

“This meant we ended up landing in Kenya at 8am, set out on a recce for eight different locations, arrived at the hotel at 8pm and then the call time was 4am the next morning. But the team in Kenya were amazing and it worked,” Brookstein adds.

Credits:
Client: Windhoek Lager
Agency: Jupiter Drawing Room
Creative Group Head: Andrew Lang
TV Producer: Lauren Trevelyan
Production Company: Moonlighting, South Africa
Producer: Shayne Brookstein
Director of Photography: Masa Takayanagi
Director: Matt Bieler