Icon Films commissioned by VICE Media Group to produce ‘Unknown Amazon with Pedro Andrade’
Leading UK production company to produce six-part documentary series that celebrates the diversity of the Amazon Rainforest
(12th February 2021 – Bristol) Leading UK independent factual production company Icon Films today announces a joint commission from VICE TV and VICE World News to produce ‘Unknown Amazon with Pedro Andrade’, a new documentary series that explores the unique diversity of Amazonia and the people who live there.
Hosted by Brazilian author and journalist Pedro Andrade, the 6 x 60’ series will take viewers on an epic journey through the Amazon Basin, to show them the real modern-day Amazonia in all its complexity.
The only way to really understand the Amazon is to spend time with the people who live there, and in each episode Pedro meets a different group of Amazonians to experience and attempt to understand its natural wonders, traditions, conflicts and the exceptional skills of its inhabitants.
‘Unknown Amazon with Pedro Andrade’ will debut on VICE TV in 2021 in the United States and globally. The series was jointly commissioned by VICE TV and VICE World News and Executive Producers for Icon Films are Stephen McQuillan, Laura Marshall and Pedro Andrade. The Series Director is Charlie Bingham. Falguni Lakhani Adams is Executive Producer for VICE TV and Kristen Burns is Executive Producer for VICE World News. The series is distributed worldwide by VICE Distribution.
Laura Marshall, CEO of Icon Films, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Pedro on this new series for VICE. Pedro’s vast experience as a journalist and his endless enthusiasm for travel makes him the ideal person to travel with through Amazonia, exploring both its unparalleled natural landscape, but also the modern-day challenges the region faces. We are delighted to produce this series for VICE that gives insight into the rich fabric of this incredible natural wonder and Pedro’s skills will ensure that viewers are entertained and inspired.”
Morgan Hertzan, Executive Vice President and General Manager, VICE TV, said: “VICE TV is the home of courageous story telling others won’t bring you-- and that is true again as we watch Pedro Andrade bring us to unknown corners of the Amazon in this new series. From nighttime trips down caiman-filled rivers to venturing to the far reaches of Brazil to introduce us to new cultures, we think our audience will enjoy taking this trip to the rainforest, especially while so many of us are stuck at home in quarantine.”
Icon Films is an award-winning production company with a reputation for originality, excellence and entertainment. Delivering high-end factual content for broadcasters around the world across a breadth of factual genres including natural history with programmes including Animal Planet US’ highest-ever rating series, ‘River Monsters’, the returning Charles Dance-narrated ‘Savage Kingdom’ and ‘Primal Survivor and 8K feature doc ‘Okavango’ for NHK in Japan.
Pedro Andrade is a Brazilian author, journalist and TV presenter. Currently based in New York, his own show Pedro Pelo Mondo – is the highest rated attraction on Brazilian network Globo. It reaches an average 7.5 million viewers weekly, boosted by the highest social media engagement for any journalistic show in Brazil. In the US, Pedro is familiar to audiences through his work on ‘Nightline’ and ‘Good Morning America’, and has previously hosted his own show on NBC, and has appeared on ‘Vice’ and ‘Fusion’.
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About Icon Films
Icon Films has a reputation for originality, excellence and entertainment across the breadth of factual genres including science, history, exploration and natural history; having produced over 400 hours of factual programming over 29 years for UK and international broadcasters.
Headquartered in Bristol, the UK’s capital of natural history TV production, Icon Films creates award-winning programming for broadcasters including the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV, National Geographic, Discovery Networks, Arte and PBS. The company is listed in Realscreen’s Global 100 top independent production companies as voted for by broadcasters, producers and distributors in the global non-fiction content industry. Icon Films has been repeatedly named in Broadcast’s annual Best Places to Work in TV list and has been listed in the Top Independent and True Indies table in both Broadcast and Televisual Indie surveys. Icon Films was founded by Harry Marshall (Chairman) and Laura Marshall (CEO) www.iconfilms.co.uk
ABOUT VICE TV
VICE TV is the Emmy®-winning international television network from VICE Media Group. Since its inception in 2016, the channel has ushered new audiences to cable with its compelling and provocative programming. Boldly redefining news and current affairs, VICE TV produces hundreds of hours of original content for over 160 million homes worldwide. Built around a mission to courageously explore the things that make us uncomfortable, drive curiosity, and awaken our sense of wonder, VICE TV showcases the best in informative and entertaining original series, documentaries and movies.
ABOUT VICE WORLD NEWS
Building off the success of VICE News in the U.S, VICE World News is a newly-launched content hub from VICE Media Group, producing hundreds of hours of international television, digital and audio news programming for a global audience. The premium documentaries, docu-series and original podcasts will focus on the core issues that so define VICE's content: extremism, climate, drugs, privacy, politics, inequality and race.
ABOUT VICE MEDIA GROUP
VICE Media Group is the world’s largest independent youth media company. Launched in 1994, VICE has offices in 35 cities across the globe with a focus on five key businesses: VICE.com, an award-winning international network of digital content; VICE STUDIOS, a feature film and television production studio; VICE TV, an Emmy®-winning international television network; a Peabody award-winning NEWS division with the most Emmy®-awarded nightly news broadcast; and VIRTUE, a global, full-service creative agency with 21 offices around the world. VICE's programming has been recognized by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Peabody’s, Sundance Film Festival, George Polk, Scripps Howard, PEN Center, Cannes Lions, Knight Foundation, American Society of Magazine Editors, LA Press Club and James Beard, among others. VICE Media Group’s portfolio includes Refinery29, the leading global media and entertainment company focused on women; PULSE Films, a London-based next-generation production studio with outposts in Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Berlin; i-D, a global digital and bimonthly magazine defining fashion and contemporary culture; and Garage, a digital platform and biannual publication converging the worlds of art and design.
