Latest news with #Gullane
Times
09-08-2025
- Sport
- Times
Jonathan Edwards: I was brainwashed, but I needed faith to break world record
If he had not been religious, Jonathan Edwards says, he would never have broken the triple jump world record. 'Unbelievably naive,' he says of treading his path, let alone that runway in Gothenburg 30 years ago almost to the day. 'It was mad. Otherworldly. Without this sense that God is in this and it's somehow what I'm supposed to do, I'd never have tried.' The faith has long been lost — he says he was 'brainwashed' — but the leap remains unchecked as the apotheosis of his event and one of sport's most unlikely stories. Edwards, now 59, is moving on. The past is being wrapped up in boxes as he and his wife, Alison, prepare to move from Newcastle to her native Scotland. Gullane is the destination and golf is now high on the retired athlete's agenda. He is a member of the Royal & Ancient and has just returned from volunteer work at the Open in Northern Ireland, helping with digital and mechanical scoring at Royal Portrush. We discuss how the winner, committed Christian Scottie Scheffler, had questioned the point of it all before concluding that golf was not a 'fulfilling' life. Edwards, too, has wrestled with questions bigger than routine salvos about 9-irons or old gold. After all, in 1988 he was the rookie working in the cytogenetics unit at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary who caught the attention of the world's media after refusing to compete in the Olympic trials because they were on a Sunday. 'You had this funny little guy who works in the lab who's done the qualifying distance but was not going to the trials. Five TV crews from all over the world turned up at my local church. I mean, it was not that long since Chariots of Fire and the Eric Liddell story was well-known.' Edwards, who had not seen the film which tells the story of Liddell refusing to race on a Sunday, did end up at those Olympics but by his own admission any God-given talent was well-hidden. No athletics prodigy like his friend Colin Jackson, he was 23rd in qualifying in Seoul. Four years later in Barcelona he was 35th. 'Colin was breaking records probably from when he was ten. At an equivalent age I was terrible. There was nothing to suggest I was going to do anything… until I did.' If athletics is a forum for incremental gains, the longevity of four field records is a rebuke to evolution. Edwards set his record in Sweden on August 7, 1995. Mike Powell's long jump mark is four years older; he once told me he did not think it would last until the end of the competition. Javier Sotomayor's high jump record was set in 1993 and Jan Zelezny's javelin best in 1996. Edwards, Britain's only world record holder, has theories. 'In field events the talent pool has just gone and I don't think athletics has kept pace with the professionalisation and commercialisation of other sports. You can go elsewhere for better rewards and probably a better experience in terms of the coaching, social setting and camaraderie.' Evidence of broader problems came when working for the BBC at the 2012 London Olympics and warning the team that Greg Rutherford was about to win the gold medal in the long jump. 'I told them it was coming up when he was in the lead but it was not shown live,' he sighs. 'I sat doing commentary for the BBC for years and they just can't think laterally.' Edwards preferred the predecessor to the over-complicated Diamond League, which had fewer meetings and awarded gold bars to the winners, and doubts that even 'brilliant' athletes such as Noah Lyles and Keely Hodgkinson truly cut across into the global mainstream. This is not grouching from the past but the reality of a sport beset by problems highlighted by the collapse of Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track league. 'From what I understand there's colossal debts and the athletes haven't been paid, so it won't happen, it's finished,' says Edwards. Johnson's ethos was that head-to-head competition was what people wanted but Edwards believes athletics is a 'demonstration of human potential' and so records matter. He has had 30 years to ponder that point. Still triple-jump trim, Edwards tells me his event was the first where an Olympic medal was awarded, and is no more contrived an endeavour than his beloved golf. 'It's just quirkier than it was because athletics is not as popular now.' That said, the vicar's son still seems almost baffled by his decision to leave Durham University and stay in the North East to become a triple jumper. 'In a very naive way, I thought I'd give it a go and make the best of the abilities God had given me,' he says. 'My father was pushing me, in a good way. I lived in North Devon, overlooking the Bristol Channel, went to private school in the middle of beautiful countryside, and the next thing I'm in post-industrial Newcastle, signing on the dole, thinking, 'What the hell am I doing here?' ' He had taken the post-university plunge because of his athletics ties to the region. He had met a coach called Carl Johnson; a blind powerlifter called Norman Anderson, the former long-distance runner Brendan Foster's physiotherapist, who 'became a second dad to me'; and then forged his alliance at Gateshead Harriers with Peter Stanley, who crucially changed Edwards' technique to a double-arm action. He met Alison at church and they married and had two sons. After a bronze medal at the 1993 World Championships, he went full-time only to suffer a debilitating virus and financial woes. 'Things looked pretty sticky because I was trying to be a triple jumper but was earning no money, so it was fraught,' he says. That bronze had sown a seed of belief that this might amount to something, though, and by the summer of 1995 he was in rude health. Willie Banks's world record of 17.97 metres had stood for a decade, but at the European Cup in Lille, Edwards leapt a staggering 18.43m, only for it to be judged marginally over the legal wind limit. 'I had no board, so it was 18.60 take-off to landing,' says Edwards at his Victorian terraced home in Gosforth, his 1995 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award behind him, waiting to be boxed. 'It was colossal. That was the day I went from a 17.50 jumper to an 18.50 one, something I never thought was possible. Even now I have to pinch myself. I wasn't the one anybody thought would do that.' After Lille, the man formerly dubbed 'Titch' and still lighter than his peers broke the record by a centimetre in Spain, after which Powell approached him and said 'welcome to the club', and by the time he got to the World Championships in Gothenburg expectations were spiralling. He did not disappoint. He broke the 18m barrier in the first round and then extended the world record to 18.29m (60ft), where it has rested ever since. 'I knew that was 60 feet, which was a big deal to me. I didn't believe it would happen but I knew it could. It felt magical. I couldn't quite understand what was happening. I look back and there's an unreality to it because it's so far away from what I'd grown up with. I was never a world-beater.' He would win lots after that, proving a world-beater in 2000 when he followed up his 1996 silver behind the USA's Kenny Harrison with the Olympic title. 'The distance didn't matter then. It was just a relief because I didn't want to be an athlete who had broken a world record and not won an Olympic title.' On his way to his Sydney gold he had a tin of sardines in his kitbag to symbolise the feeding of the 5,000 and remind himself that for all the records and faster-higher-stronger slogans, there was always a higher entity. In 1991 he had sparked more fascination by not competing at the World Championships because it would have meant jumping on the Sabbath, but he was competing on a Sunday by 1993, and after retiring a decade later and fronting Songs of Praise, he began to question more fundamental beliefs. 'The biggest pressure was when I changed my mind about jumping on a Sunday,' he says. 'My parents weren't happy about that. I'd been brought up not to do anything on a Sunday. It was very strict. I never did any schoolwork on Sunday, never revised. I used to try to sneak away and watch The Big Match and on the odd occasion my parents would find me and drag me out. 'Then I started to reason it and come up with my own conclusions. It's not a settled issue in theology that the Sabbath is Sunday and that you can't work on a Sunday. I had freedom of conscience to make that decision. 'My faith and athletics were always very much tied together and when I retired [in 2003] it gave me freedom to ask questions. My horizons were broadened. I didn't just have this cosseted group in Newcastle based around family, friends and church. I was going further afield, working for the BBC, doing documentaries, I got a job on the Ofcom content board. I saw more of life. 'There wasn't a moment where I thought 'I don't believe there's a God anymore'. It makes sense to a lot of people, but it didn't to me and it fell away quite quickly but not traumatically. I think it was a shock to a lot of people around me, mostly my parents — I think it's still a constant source of disappointment.' Scheffler has spoken about how faith helps his sport by making him appreciate golf is not a matter of life or death. Edwards never felt predestined to win medals, but did feel there was something compelling him to try. 'Having lost my faith, I look back and I obviously thought there was a real entity supporting me. There was a power in that and it was my sports psychology. I wouldn't have become an athlete without it. I was 21 and had won nothing. All my mates were going off to work for one of the big five consultancies, as it was then, and I'm going to Newcastle to be a triple jumper. It was a fool's errand to think it might work out.' His mother now has dementia and his father is dealing with that as well as the aftershock of a stroke. Alison, the daughter of a port missionary, has recently qualified as a lay reader — 'we've held our differences very well'. Nothing Edwards says is delivered in a didactic or critical manner, but he says faith was intertwined with the blinkered obsessiveness of sport. 'I was brought up by my parents with the best of intentions, but brainwashed,' he says. 'That's the truth. I was very compliant and eager to please as a young boy. I think athletics is very one-dimensional and you're so focused on performance that you almost become stunted in other areas. 'You're very developed physically but in terms of the broader development of your thought process and the meaning of life, perhaps less so. I was a late physical developer and maybe I was a late emotional and psychological developer. I'm probably an atheist, but ultimately I think being agnostic is the only true position because nobody really knows. 'There are brighter people who believe in God and brighter people who don't, so it's not an intellectual exercise. It's an opinion, a feeling, upbringing and genetics. I love the Dune films and the idea that life's not a mystery to be understood but a reality to be enjoyed. That's where I'm at.' He clearly enjoys his reality, his family, and his ambassadorial role for the R&A — and playing golf, which he says is just as reliant on rhythm as the discipline that made him famous. And he is still the greatest. The closest anyone has come to his mark was ten years ago, Christian Taylor's 18.21m, and while common sense suggests it must fall one day, he will be sorry if it beaten as a result technological advances. 'I don't think World Athletics have got a handle on technology at all and my spikes sit more happily in the 1960s than 2025, that's for sure. Did you see that track they jumped on in Rome? It's a trampoline. I mean if my record had been broken on that, I think it would have been a travesty.' Being better than billions inevitably brings barbs as well as introspection. 'You've got a world record that lasts 30 years and, inevitably, people laugh and say, 'What did you take?' Kenny Harrison's had digs at me on and off, but in a technical event when you get something right you can make huge strides that aren't about being fast and strong. It's effortless.' So the world record remains more 'impactful' than any of the gold medals laying under the bed, and sometimes he gets out the old tape. When comparisons are made, the common conception is that gold matters most because nobody can take medals from you, but Edwards says he was also sent mementos each time he broke the world record. 'Nobody can take my plaques away either,' he smiles. Except the removal men in a box that should be marked 'best'.
Scotsman
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Scotland's Home Internationals selections put under the microscope
Martin Dempster runs the rule over the sides selected by Scottish Golf for title battles next week Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... After a disappointing European Team Championship campaign, Scotland will be aiming to salvage some pride in the upcoming Home Internationals, which are taking place in England and Ireland. The men and women are heading to Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire to do battle on 6-8 August, with the boys and girls in action at Cork on 5-7 August. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Here's a rundown of Scottish Golf's selections for each event, with the men/women and boys/girls once again competing in a mixed format. Chris Robb, pictured with Ewen Ferguson during a practice round for the Dormy Open in Sweden in 2021, has been picked for next week's Men's Home Internationals after being reinstated as an amateur |Men's Home Internationals The team is missing star players Connor Graham and Cameron Adam as they prepare for the US Amateur Championship at The Olympic Club in San Francisco the following week. US-based Niall Shiels Donegan is in the same boat, leaving the selectors to pick what can only be described as a somewhat patched-up team. It includes Meldrum House man Chris Robb, who beat Graeme Robertson in the final of the Scottish Amateur Championship in 2014 before turning professional, but he's now back in the amateur ranks. Battle Trophy winners Andrew Davidson (Crail) and Jack McDonald (Schloss Roxburghe) have played on this stage before, as has Aldeburgh's Gregor Tait, a two-time Scottish Amateur finalist. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The team also includes last year's Scottish Amateur champion Alexander Farmer (Kilmacolm) and Sam Mukherjee (Gullane), as well as Glenbervie's Ross Laird, who played for Team International in this year's Palmer Cup. New blood, meanwhile, will be provided by The Renaissance Club's Dominic McGlinchey, who topped the qualifying in this week's Scottish Amateur at Gullane, and James Wood, the Bathgate player who won last year's Scottish Boys' Championship. Glenbervie's George Cannon has been named as the reserve for an event that will see Ireland defend the title. North Berwick's Grace Crawford is now one of the experienced players in the Scottish Women's side | Contributed Women's Home Internationals This event marks the start of life for Scottish Golf without having the services of either Hannah Darling or Lorna McClymont after they both turned professional. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It means the main experience is now being provided by former St Rule Trophy winner Jen Saxton (Dunfermline) and North Berwick's Grace Crawford, who emulated Darling by winning The R&A Girls' Under-16 Championship before landing an even bigger victory in the Helen Holm Scottish Women's Open. Royal Troon's Freya Russell has been regarded as one of the brightest talents in Scotland over the past few years, with Rosie Maguire (Pollok) and Abigail May (St Regulus Ladies) both having emerged as top juniors. Australian-based Sheridan Clancy (Lake Karrinyup) and Susan Woodhouse, the East Kilbride player who sprung a shock in this year's Scottish Women's Championship, completing the line up, with Eilidh Henderson (Ladybank) on standby as the reserve. England will be defending the women's title on home soil. Scottish Boys' champion Finlay Galloway will lead a strong-looking side into battle in Cork | Scottish Golf Boys' Home Internationals As was the case for the European Championship, the Scots are heading into battle with a strong-looking side. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It will be led by Scottish Boys' champion Finlay Galloway (St Andrews) and also includes Jamie McDonald (St Andrews New) and Fraser Walters (Craigielaw). McDonald and Walters both played in the European Young Masters in France last weekend along with their sisters, Carly and Stella. Aidan Lawson, the Bruntsfield Links player who won last year's European Young Masters, is also in the side along with Oli Blackadder (Deeside), Fraser Brown (Nairn), Brodie Cunningham (Bothwell Castle), Kiron Gribble (Dunbar) and Kai Laing (Broomieknowe), with Finlay Hazelwood (Carnoustie Caledonia) listed as the reserve. The Scots beat England in a game within the event to lift The International Cup at Conwy last year and will aim to claim the main prize on this occasion. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Stella and Fraser Walters are both representing Scotland in the Girls/Boys Home Internationals in Ireland | Scottish Golf Girls' Home Internationals Hopes are high that a new Hannah Darling or Lorna McClymont will come through over the next year or so and the seven players selected for this event will be aiming to show off their talents in Ireland. Carly McDonald (St Regulus) won the recent Scottish Girls' Championship at Kings Golf Club in Inverness while 12-year-old Stella Walters (Craigielaw) looks as though she is also a star in the making. They'll be joining forces with Jodie Graham (Royal Troon), Erin Huskie (Stirling), Melissa Keay (Ralston), Hannah Ounap (Loudoun) and Kaci Robertson (Nairn Dunbar). Ava Paterson (Tulliallan) is the reserve.
Edinburgh Reporter
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Edinburgh Reporter
DL Shawfair on a tennis march
One of the newest clubs in the VMH Solicitors East tennis leagues – David Lloyd, Shawfair1 – have won Division 9a after going head-to-head with rivals Gullane over the 10 match season just ended. Captained by Zak Rafih the Danderhall based outfit edged out Gullane on sets won after each club had won their home tie in the fixture leaving points level at 18 apiece. There were some notable individual performances from DL Shawfair notably from Dylan Weir (who ironically missed the photo call). Dylan won all 12 sets played. Others to excel were Neil Fraser (19 sets won, 1 lost), Stoyan Ivanov (17-1), Zak Rafih (16-2), Aaron Matthews (15-1), Kevin Soto (15-3) and Craig Nisbet (10-2). Other teams in the league were Waverley 3, Dalgety Bay 4, Dalkeith 3 and Lomond Park 5. Zak Rafik said: 'Very chuffed … very excited to keep climbing and see where we can get to/' Photographed after an away match on the blaes courts at Dalkeith are, left to right: Aaron Matthews, Zak Rafih, Neil Fraser, Craig Nisbet, Stoyan Ivanov and Kevin Soto. Like this: Like Related
Scotsman
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Rory McIlroy cheers for Hearts, Saturday sell-out, big helper - Scottish Open daily divots
Why Rory McIlroy had Hearts on his mind, Saturday sellout and Gullane news Sign up to our Golf newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Our golf correspondent digs out some stories behind the scenes at The Renaissance Club. Rory McIlroy has Hearts on his mind He didn't break out into a chorus of 'Hearts, Hearts, Glorious Hearts' but it was funny hearing Rory McIlroy say 'Come on the Hearts' at The Renaissance Club. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The grand slam winner, a big Manchester United supporter, made the comment after seeing that a well-known Hearts fan in the golf writing world was wearing a maroon top at a media huddle. Rory McIlroy pictured during the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club |Calum Hill had also been talking about the Tynecastle club earlier in the day due to his new caddie, Stuart Davidson, also being a Jambo. 'I see that on his yardage book every time,' laughed Hill in reply to being asked if Davidson had mentioned his team. 'He's always talking about them. I heard it was 8-0 against East Kilbride (in a pre-season friendly) and, even though I follow zero football, I know that's impressive!' Fans flocking to East Lothian have been enjoying glorious conditions for this year's event | Getty Images It's a Saturday sellout in sunshine The big names had already guaranteed a bumper crowd and now the added bonus of glorious weather is set to create a new record attendance for the event at The Renaissance Club. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It was announced by the event organisers on Friday afternoon that Saturday's third round is officially sold out, meaning 23,000 fans are set to be out on the East Lothian course. Even though it was shy of capacity for the second round, it still had the feeling of being close to the atmosphere of The Open. 'We're looking forward to a fantastic weekend of golf and entertainment, and welcoming our best ever crowd to the event,' said Rory Colville, the championship director. Gordon Simpson is leaving Gullane to become the secretary at Swinley Forrest | Contributed Gullane secretary is on the move Nearby Gullane Golf Club is on the lookout for a new secretary after Gordon Simpson's announcement that he is leaving in September to take on that role at Swinley Forest in Berkshire. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Simpson replaced David Morgan at the East Lothian club in 2019 after a spell as the managing secretary at Ladybank in Fife. 'I will be sad to leave, but I will do so knowing the club is in a very healthy position, with an exceptional team who will continue to drive the club and the facilities forward once I depart,' Simpson told The Scotsman. As for Swinley Forest, he added: 'It is a unique members' club that offers a quality service and facilities on all levels.' A marshal holds a sign at The Renaissance Club |Security man steps in to aid stricken fan Andy Dawber's job this week - and others, too, when he plays on the DP World Tour - is Rory McIlroy's personal security guard. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A lovely man, he's always close by when the grand slam winner is making his way from the practice area to the tee and then out on the course as well.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Netflix Brazil Unveils a ‘Sintonia' Spin-Off, Soccer Shows on Brazil 1970, Ronaldinho and Neymar and a Scripted Series on Brazil's Biggest Ever Radioactive Disaster
Directors Fernando Coimbra ('A Wolf at the Door') and top production houses Gullane ('Senna'), O2 Filmes ('City of God') and Boutique Filmes ('3%') feature among 10 new productions announced Monday by Netflix. The new announcements matter. Netflix does not break out client figures for individual countries. Brazil ranks, however, as its second-biggest market globally with 20.6 million paid subscribers, according to global analyst Omdia estimates. That places it ahead of the U.K. (17.7 million), Germany (17.5 million), and France (14.6 million). More from Variety 'Cocomelon' Acquired by Disney+; Netflix Deal Ends After 60% Viewership Decrease Netflix Reteams with 'Eternaut' Star Ricardo Darín on New Movie as Streamer 'Doubles Down' on Argentina 'Sirens' Creator on the Power of Lilly Pulitzer, Michaela's Bird Obsession and Turning Greek Myth Into New England Nightmare One of Brazil's biggest challenges is to export its biggest swings. Save for a rare exception like 'Senna,' Netflix Brazilian shows are not global plays. Yet some achieve global viewership via Netflix, led in 2024 by 'Desperate Lies,' Burning Betrayal,' 'Senna' (which bowed Nov. 29), 'Bionic' and 'Good Morning, Veronica' according to PlumResearch. Further breakouts this year take in 'A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054,' 'Sintonia,' 'Senna,' 'Burning Betrayal' and 'Stranded with My Mother in Law,' added Jonathan Broughton, at PlumResearch.. The 10 new unveils were made on the eve of Rio de Janeiro mega creativity forum Rio2C, where the U.S. SVOD leader will host a panel on the technological legacy of 'Senna' and another on the power of reality show casting, underscored by its own 'Stranded With My Mother-in-Law' Seasons 1 and 2. O2 Filmes is producing high-tech doc series 'Brazil 70 – A Saga do Tri,' about the key match plays and journeys of Brazilian soccer players – Pele, Jarzinho, Carlos Alberto – during Brazil's probably greatest FIFA World Cup triumph. 'Sintonia,' Netflix's biggest Brazilian franchise whose final Season 5 dropped in February, will receive a movie spin-off continuing Nando's story. Johnny Araújo directs again, Gullane produces once more. Scribe-helmer Coimbra and Gullane ('Noah's Ark,' 'The Second Mother') reunite after 'A Wolf at the Door' and 'Carnival is Over,' on 'Emergencia Radiactiva,' a mini-series inspired by the biggest non-nuclear-plant radioactive accident in history. Further new Netflix Brazil highlights announced Monday include biopics on soccer greats Ronaldinho and Neymar and Boutique Filmes' fiction chronicle of a crime that rocked Brazil, the Elize Matsunaga case. To date in 2025, Netflix has already released island-set reality challenge contest 'Stranded With My Mother in Law' Season 2, and three documentaries: 'Larissa: The Other Side of Anitta,' a take on the person behind the pop supernova persona; 'A Tragedy Foretold, Flight 3054,' about the deadliest aviation accident ever in South America, which ranked No. 4 among Netflix global Top 10 non-English shows over April 21-27, and 'Baila, Vini,' a take on Real Madrid soccer star Vinicius Jr.'s career and his troubled battle against racism. Crime thriller 'Os Donos do Jogo,' a 'Brotherhood' spin-off and 'Stranded With My Mother in Law' Season 3 have all wrapped production. 'Netflix continues to strengthen its investment in Brazil's audiovisual market,' it said Monday. How is that playing out? Six ways in which Netflix is pushing the envelope in Brazil, followed by a brief drill down on the newly announced productions: Expanding Netflix's Horizons In its drive for transformation of Brazil's film-TV scene, Netflix is exploring little frequented genres or shooting firsts for the streaming giant. Among unveils are its first wildlife doc in Brazil and indeed Latin America, 'Marcha das Oncas,' and Netflix's first horror movie, 'Fazenda Colonial,' made by an all female writing-directing team. Continuing to broaden its output. 'We not only aim to offer variety to a diverse audience but to encourage the development of new stories in Brazil,' Netflix Brazil head of films Higia Ikeda said Monday. A Drive into Brazilian Original Reality Shows Also unveiled, Korea-set 'Meu Namorado Coreano' joins other Netflix Brazil original reality shows, one of its fastest-building growth axes, reflecting the growing interest of Brazilian audiences in reality formats, said Elisa Chalfon, Netflix Brazil lead of non-fiction. She called Netflix's backing 'Meu Namorado Coreano'as 'very meaningful,' 'supporting the growth of the market, building specialized teams and expanding Brazilian entertainment's repertoire with originality and cultural strength.' Production Values Pushing authenticity, Netflix and Zola Filmes drafted in Peter Lee Thomas, a trainer for Halle Berry, to choreograph fight scenes on 'Fúria,' another new show, which required intense physical preparation, rehearsals and workshops. Turning on Elize Matsunaga's murder of her husband, real crime fiction suspense drama 'Uma Garota de Classe' features a faithful and detailed recreation of the apartment where the Matsunaga couple lived. Cutting-Edge Technology Marking a major leap in technology, Netflix-O2 Filmes' 'Brazil 70' yokes archival image research to VFX, reconstructing games moves and moments that weren't captured in detail in 1970 due to the limited technology of the time, exploring those in ultra-detailed shots and angles. 'We are making a significant investment in visual effects to recreate the matches and historic plays with the highest level of realism, combining on-location shoots in Brazil and Mexico with meticulous image research and digital finishing,' said Haná Vaisman, Netflix Brazil's scripted series lead. Brazilian Relevance 'Documentaries and reality shows are a direct bridge to the reality of our country and our subscribers — and Brazil has countless stories that have yet to be told,' said Chaflon. Brazilian stories can hike local audience engagement through their emotional proximity, while boosting a sense of authenticity. Netflix's aim, it said in a statement Monday, is 'to play a transformative role in Brazil's audiovisual landscape, offering globally resonant content rooted in local authenticity.' 'Brazilian content performs best when it leans into local identity, music or true stories, builds emotional resonance over spectacle and uses urban realism and cultural specificity to feel universal,' said Broughton. The Move Into Real Life Inspired Action Thrillers That authenticity takes in action thrillers, Brazil's potentially biggest next international calling card. Netflix confirmed Monday completion of filming on series 'Os Donos do Jogo,' co-created and directed by Heitor Dhalia, inspired by Rio's gaming mafia. At January's Next on Netflix, it showed new first look photos of the second season of smash hit series 'Criminal Code,' its most watched Brazilian series of second half 2023 inspired by a 2017 heist and subsequent real-life events. The series was heavily researched, creator Dhalia has said. 'Jogo' is following suit. Of Netflix's 10 new productions announced Monday, seven are inspired by real-life events or figures. Here Are the 10 New Productions Series 'Emergencia Radiactiva,' (Fernando Coimbra, Gullane) Coimbra's sharp human observation wrapped in a thriller format were major merits of 'A Wolf at the Door.' He returns to the same mix in this mini-series, relating the 1987 Goiâna radioactive accident – where scavengers unwittingly sold to neighbors 40 TBq of Caesium-137 found in a hospital radiation-therapy machine. People were curious about its glow. The miniseries frames a race against time, spotlighting the battle between physicists and doctors to save thousands of lives. 'Fúria,' (José Henrique Fonseca, Zola Filmes) Director of Netflix hit 'Bom dia, Verônica,' on Netflix over 2020-24, Fonseca returns with 'Füria,' about an amnesiac MMA fighter battling for a place in the MMA world and the rediscovery of his true identity as he's embroiled in a dangerous web of crime, ambition, and secrets that threaten his life and that of his mentor. 'Brazil 70 – A Saga do Tri,' (Naná Xavier, Rafael Dornelles, 02 Filmes) The 1970 World Cup saw Brazil's greatest team and some of its greatest goals such as Pele's nonchalant pass into space for Carlos Alberto in the final against Italy. Such moments are now rooted in a generation's collective memory, Netflix noted. Produced by O2 Filmes and directed by Pedro and Paolo Morelli, behind Series Mania title 'Raul Seixas: Let Me Sing,' 'Brazil 70 – A Saga do Tri,' recreates such highlights while chronicling the troubled personal journeys of Brazilian players. Reality Shows 'Meu Namorado Coreano,' Five Brazilian women hit a bustling Seoul to find out whether 'their relationships can withstand distance, cultural differences, and a whole new routine,' said Netflix. 'Each new production is an opportunity to innovate, test new storytelling styles, and engage directly with the audience,' commented Netflix's Chalfon. Documentaries A Ronaldinho Bio-Doc Winning near every trophy out – a World Cup, Copa América, Copa Libertadores and 2005 Ballon d'Or – and author of goals of extraordinary technique, imagination and often sheer cheek, the doc-feature will tell Ronaldinho's career story with 'humor and lightness, revealing little-known episodes and never-before-seen interviews,' according to Netflix. It is produced by Floresta ('Shark Tank Brazil,' 'Lady Night,' 'Bugados'), part of Sony Pictures Television International Productions. Untitled Neymar-Santos Doc Another Brazilian soccer doc, catching Neymar as he returns to soccer club Santos, where he first made his name, bidding to regain its former glory, having been relegated in 2023 to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B for the first time in its 111-year history. It will prove no cake walk. Improbable and Ginga Pictures produce. 'Marcha das Oncas,' Described as the journey of three jaguars in Brazil's Pantanal using advanced technology to reveal challenges faced by the species and the vital importance of its conservation. Entirely conceived, created and produced in Brazil, directed by Lawrence Wahba and co-produced by Duo2 and France's Bonne Pioche, behind 'The March of the Penguins,' a 2006 best doc feature Oscar winner. Films 'Uma Garota de Classe,' (Vellas, Boutique Filmes) Elize Matsunaga case, which saw her shoot dead and dismember her husband, heir to the Yoki food empire, already inspired a 2021 Netflix true-crime docuseries. Here it receives a fiction film makeover, billed by Netflix as 'a thriller with melodramatic touches, exploring social class, ambition, and violence in a provocative way.' Directed by Vellas, who helmed Amazon Prime's 'DOM' and two episodes of Netflix's 'Crime Code,' the series is written by acclaimed crime novelist turned screenwriter Raphael Montes whose 'Perfect Days' inspired Anonymous Content Brazil's first scripted project. 'Sintonia' Nando Spin off Launched August 2019, set in São Paulo's outer-radius slums and created by music producer KondZilla, the driving force behind Brazilian urban funk, along with producer-writer Felipe Braga and Guilherme Quintella, 'Sintonia' made waves through its mixture of KondZilla's street cred, a potent mix of Brazilian funk, drug crime and teen ambition and a universal theme of bedrock friendship between by Season 5 incarcerated drug trafficker Nando, law school graduate Rita and music impresario Doni. The movie spin-off continues Nando's story, details to be revealed at a later date. 'Fazenda Colonial,' (Marcela Mariz, Renata di Carmo) A group of friends' take a celebratory trip to an old farm, which ends in a sinister reunion with the past. Kromaki ('Birthright') and Panda Filmes ('Los Terrines') produce, Mariz ('David Mirisch, The Man Behind the Golden Stars') and Di Carmo ('Senhoras') direct. 'The work subverts the genre by incorporating elements of Brazilian social history, a smart and subversive take on social issues such as racism, told through the lens of horror,' Netflix noted Monday. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
