Written by new-contact on Mar 21, 2014. Posted in On Location

David Beckham films BBC rainforest documentary on location in Brazil

David Beckham has filmed a new BBC rainforest documentary on location in Brazil. Directed by Anthony Mandler, the 90-minute film will follow the football star and a small group of friends as they experience life in the rainforest ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in June.

“This is an unforgettable documentary set in the heart of the dense Amazon rainforest following David Beckham,” said Helen Jackson, Managing Director of Content at BBC Worldwide: “Through his eyes, audiences will experience life in the jungle, something so distant from David’s life on and off the pitch and in the glare of the world’s media.”

Added Charlotte Moore, Controller of BBC One: “In this special documentary for BBC One, David Beckham embarks on a top-secret expedition to the Amazon that will see him encounter the other side of Brazil and journey through the tropical rainforest, a TV first for the global icon.”

Beckham will first appear in a special one-off sketch with the stars of classic British sitcom Only Fools and Horses for charity Sport Relief (above).

In the next few months Beckham's rainforest documentary could help boost interest in Brazil. International commercial campaigns focussing on the World Cup are raising the country’s profile within the global advertising industry.

This is an unforgettable documentary set in the heart of the dense Amazon rainforest following David Beckham.

Helen Jackson, Managing Director of Content at BBC Worldwide

Leyla Fernandes, President of FilmBrazil, told The Location Guide: “Brazil is today a country with a solid democracy and one of the principal production hubs in the world. Because of its growing economy, [and] the gradual but assiduous increase in consumer capability, clients seek to broaden their presence in Brazil, which leads to many global projects being produced (and created) in Brazil and exported to other countries.”

The David Beckham documentary was produced by XIX Entertainment for the BBC and BBC Worldwide and will be screened on BBC One in the UK in the coming months.

(Photo: BBC/Ray Burmiston/Sports Relief)