The three-part Netflix docuseries Neymar: The Perfect Chaos introduces Brazillian soccer player Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior in a rare light — as Neymar “the person” instead of the celebrity, says director David Charles Rodrigues.
Rodrigues appeared on a recent episode of the Factual America podcast, which you can listen to above, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or right here:
A quick note for American readers: when Rodrigues says football, he means soccer. For international readers: When we say soccer, we mean football.
“Neymar the athlete is one of the greatest and highest-paid football players of all time, you know, in America, soccer players. But also, one of the most controversial, which you’ll understand when you see the series,” Rodrigues said.
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The director believes his docuseries presents the athlete in a more personal and authentic light than ever before.
“He’s someone that is always in the media and always on social media. So, it was a real challenge to find another angle and really show a side of him that hasn’t been shared before. And that was really the goal of making the series, and I feel really proud of what we accomplished. You really get up close and personal relationship with Neymar, and the relationship between him and his father, who’s also his business manager. That’s really the heart and soul of the show, is just you get to meet Neymar the person more than in any other instance in his career.”
In Neymar: The Perfect Chaos, Rodrigues says that audiences get to meet the star athlete “as a person more than anything.”
“We followed him during the 2019-2020 season, which was full of ups and downs, but that was a kind of a bridge to be able to tell his career and also a little study on his legacy moving forward; so, it’s a mix of a very fresh, never-before-seen moments and footage and stories with some key moments that really show you how he got to where he is right now,” he said.
“I think I also got lucky that I found him in a moment in his life, where he was ready to bear all and to really share his essence. And I think he understood that this documentary format and Netflix was the right platform to be able to do that.”
Neymar: The Perfect Chaos is now streaming on Netflix. Here are the timestamps from the Factual America interview:
00:00 – Excerpt from the trailer for Neymar: The Perfect Chaos.
02:20 – How the series shows the human side of the legendary football player.
05:12 – What Neymar was like and the surprising parts of his personality.
07:11 – How he became famous and the extent of his passion for football.
09:43 – The transformation that he went through during filming.
12:10 – The dynamic between Neymar and his father.
15:44 – The skills the father has in sports marketing and the marketing he does for his son.
19:44 – How David got involved with the making of the film.
21:35 – What it’s like working with LeBron James and Uninterrupted.
23:50 – How Kobe Bryant’s death affected Neymar.
27:07 – How David built such a strong bond of trust with the player.
32:32 – The film’s reach around the world.
34:44 – What Neymar means for Brazil.
36:06 – How David started working as a documentary director.
39:00 – The next projects he is now working on.
Factual America uses documentary filmmaking to examine the American experience as well as universal topics that affect all Americans. Guests include Academy Award, Emmy and Grammy-winning filmmakers and producers, their subjects, as well as experts on the American experience. We discuss true crime, music, burning social and political topics, history and arts with the creators of the latest and upcoming documentary films in theatres and on the most popular digital platforms. This podcast is produced by Alamo Pictures, a London- and Austin-based production company that makes documentaries about the US from a European perspective for international audiences.
Main Image: A still from Neymar: The Perfect Chaos. Courtesy of Factual America / Netflix
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