Always diversifying his resume, film director Spike Lee has put together a short film about South American soccer powerhouse, Brazil, and the country’s love for the sport as it prepares to host the World Cup Thursday night.
The film, The Game, tells the story of a young Brazilian boy who follows a soccer ball through the streets with hopes of scoring in the stadium. Shot on location, it’s the latest from Pepsi Max’s Beats of the Beautiful Game, a visual album of 11 songs and companion short films that capture the sights, sounds, and emotions of soccer.
Lee’s video, set to the music of Kelly Rowland’s new release “The Game,” finds the visionary filmmaker joining Idris Elba, Jessy Terrero, Diego Luna, Andy Morahan and The Kolton Brothers, among others. The complete project will be available via iTunes and includes contributions from Janelle Monae, Rita Ora, Don Omar, Timbaland, Santigold, R3hab, Jetta, Pearls Negras, Jolin Tsai and Hassan El Shafei.
Not only one of the preeminent film directors in America today, Spike has a history of creating sports content, commercials and films. On the feature side, beginning with the cult classic basketball movie He Got Game, which starred Denzel Washington and NBA basketball player Ray Allen in 1998, he followed that up by co-producing Love & Basketball in 2000, before going behind the camera again to direct Jim Brown: All-American (2009) and Mike Tyson: The Undisputed Truth (2013).
A lifelong New York Knicks and Yankees fan, Lee has also expressed fan loyalty to the New York Giants and Arsenal of the English Premier League.
