Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima hit the Taormina Film Festival on Wednesday for the world premiere of the short film FIFA: A Love Letter to Rwanda, going behind the scenes of the FIFA congress in the Rwandan capital of Kigali in March of this year.
Lima, who was announced as a FIFA Global Fan Ambassador in February, executive produced and fronts the 20-minute short exploring how Rwanda has moved on from the 1994 genocide that killed at least 500,000 people belonging to the Tutsi minority ethnic group.
She connects with Rwanda’s burgeoning creative scene and also travels to the jungle to discover the country’s efforts to preserve its gorilla population with former poachers now working as their protectors.
Lima told the Deadline Studio that working with FIFA and on the film chimed with her desire to work on projects that “do good” as well as her love of soccer.
Quizzed on relationship with soccer, Lima replied: “It’s football not soccer, for starters [laughs]. Every Brazilian has football in their veins. It is part of our culture, our religion. It’s in our blood… we’re passionate.”
The other stars of the film are FIFA president Gianni Infantino and rising Rwandan multi-hyphenate artist Cedric Mizero, whose many talents span arts, fashion, music and costume design.
“I travel the world and I’ve seen so many artists and musicians… his talent has no limits. He is a musician, he is a painter, he is a designer, he is a creator designer. I am like what else? It’s truly incredible what he can do with his vision,” said Lima.
Click above to watch the Deadline Studio interview with Lima, Mizero, director Craig Goodwill and producer Andre L III at MiLu Entertainment.
