Mekong with Sue Perkins (BBC)
Author
Published
June 14, 2021
Mekong with Sue Perkins (BBC)

Mandarin Film traveled with one of the BBC’s brightest TV personalities- Sue Perkins – for a 21-day shoot in the most beautiful and culturally diversified areas of Yunnan and Qinghai province for a four-part documentary series, Mekong with Sue Perkins. The series documented Sue’s epic journey of 3000 miles through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and China, which finally ends close to the source of the Mekong in remote Qinghai province. Mandarin Film is proud to have been the production company in China for such  a beloved show. We were involved from the early research stages, identifying the most amazing characters and locations, extensive recceing, fixing on location, and helping with logistics, translation, and subtitling.

Getting close up with remote traditional cultures largely unknown to the outside world and breathtaking landscapes in Yunnan and Qinghai, we were faced with incredible challenges from filming at high altitudes (The highest mountain pass in Meili mountain, Yunnan is a rarefied 4,300 meters) and bitterly cold temperatures, traveling through inhospitable terrain on the Tibetan Plateau with no mobile phone signals and multiple language barriers with local minority people, etc.

Mandarin Film team worked closely with British production company Indus Film Productions on every detail, from location scouting, selection of characters to on-set translators, accommodation in remote areas. With 2 months of careful preparation in location/character research, logistics, permits and so on, we removed all the obstacles in front of us and finally saw Sue laughing and dancing with Aini minority women, talking part in the Dai minority’s water splashing festivities, visiting a yak herding family on Tibetan Plateau, and joining a group of nuns on a pilgrimage…

Your tireless patience with us was hugely appreciated and everyone really enjoyed spending time with Mandarin Film during filming.  The films are looking gorgeous!” Program director Vicky Hinners, Indus Film Productions

Prev
Skyladder – Cai Guoqiang (Netflix/Theatrical)
Next
This Is Football (Amazon Prime)
9:15