A24 Go Back to…: Distrib Jazzed About Asif Kapadia’s “Amy”

Tipped for the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, and knowing how well Senna played globally and how Amy Winehouse in her short time became an institution, Thierry Frémaux’s Cannes programming team are undoubtably giving the docu film a serious look, and apparently,… so are the A24 folks. THR reports that the distrib would have landed their first docu – one that already has a built in fanbase and a U.K release date. Asif Kapadia‘s Amy would also receive a summer release.

Gist: This chronicles the soulful British singer-songwriter’s life and career, and features previously unseen archive footage and unheard tracks. From the filmmakers: “Amy was a once-in-a-generation talent who captured everyone’s attention; she wrote and sung from the heart and everyone fell under her spell. But tragically Amy seemed to fall apart under the relentless media attention, her troubled relationships, her global success and her precarious lifestyle. As a society we celebrated her huge success but then we were quick to judge her failings when it suited us.”

Worth noting: Kapadia got his start with 2001’s The Warrior and returns to fiction with Ali and Nino, due out sometime this year.

Do We Care?: Loaded in dramatic highs we’d normally associate with fiction, despite the absence of the key figure and the dated available material, Senna is the sort of docu example that felt urgent, very much in the moment. We won’t be surprised if this subject “comes to life” in similar fashion.