This article will address the topic of Adrian Cowell, which has generated great interest and controversy in recent times. Since its emergence, Adrian Cowell has captured the attention of specialists, academics and the general public due to its relevance and impact on various aspects of modern society. Throughout these pages, different approaches and perspectives on Adrian Cowell will be explored, as well as its influence on fields as varied as technology, politics, culture and economics. The intention is to offer a comprehensive and updated view of the topic, in order to enrich the debate and promote a deeper understanding of Adrian Cowell and its meaning today.
John Adrian Cowell (2 February 1934 – 11 October 2011) was a British filmmaker, born in Tongshan or Tangshan, China. He was best known for producing documentaries about Chico Mendes and deforestation in the Amazon and the opium/heroin trade out of the Shan States, Burma (Myanmar).
Cowell was educated at Ampleforth College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he studied history. While a student at Cambridge, he planned (but was unable to take part in) the 1954 Oxford and Cambridge Trans-Africa Expedition, and took part in the 1955-6 Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition to Singapore and the 1957-8 Oxford and Cambridge Expedition to South America. It was on the latter expedition team that Cowell met the Villas-Bôas brothers and left the Oxford and Cambridge Expedition to join them on the Centro Geographico Expedition to find the geographical centre of Brazil. This was the beginning of his connection with South America and, in particular, Brazil.
Cowell was awarded the Royal Geographical Society's Cherry Kearton Medal and Award in 1985, and in 1991 won the Founders Award at the International Emmys. In his obituary in The Guardian, Anthony Hayward wrote that he was "one of the most successful" documentary makers of his generation. His documentaries about the rain forest brought the subject significant political attention.
Cowell married Pilly Chamberlayne in 1960; they divorced in 2008. Their union produced a daughter, Boojie, and a son, Xingu. Cowell formed an extramarital relationship with Barbara Bramble in 1987. Xingu Cowell died in a canoeing accident in 1986.