Brazil with Michael Palin
Brazil with Michael Palin starts tonight on BBC1 at 9pm.
Member of thecallsheet Juliana Schuch was the assistant production manager on the project. Juliana, who hails from Brazil, was based in London for the entire 18 months of the project.
She told us “Filming took place over 4 trips to Brazil, each shoot lasting 21 days. There were also 3 recce visits as there is so much to see take in”
“There are 4 programs in all and Michael travels from the North of Brazil to the South. I managed to teach him a little Portuguese before each journey.”
“I am from Brazil myself and there is a saying in Portuguese that ‘Brazilian people do things for Englishman to see’ – meaning that some things are done for show. This series looks at the show and beyond. It does take you to Christ the Redeemer and Rio, but it also looks at the huge German, Italian and Japanese community in the South of Brazil, where it snows in winter.“
“The second episode also looks at native Indian and how the white man and technology changed the area and the economy.”
“One of my favourite sequences in the series is when a local cook takes Michael through a food and fish market, they just walk and talk for a long time and it’s just wonderful.
There is just a huge mix of people in Brazil and Michael calls it a ‘melting pot’ of culture – if I had to describe Brazil in one word, it would be ‘Povo’ (people, community).
“It was an amazing production to work on. Michael Palin is genuinely lovely to work with. He is one of the most genuine and kind people I have ever met. I would jump at the chance to work with him again and I hope he would with me!”
Here's a clip from the the show where Michael Palin takes part in game of Capoeira
The 4 part series starts at 9pm on BBC1.
Juliana Schuch is a member of thecallsheet.co.uk and members can visit her profile here. We've included a few more pictures of the show below.
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