Entertainment

Amy Winehouse documentary in the works

British filmmaker Asif Kapadia, who created the award-winning doc Senna, has been given the go-ahead to make a film about the life of late singer Amy Winehouse.

Senna director gets family's OK to make film about late singer

A documentary about the late Amy Winehouse by Asif Kapadia has the blessing of the late singer's family. (Getty Images)

British filmmaker Asif Kapadia, who created the award-winning doc Senna, has been given the go-ahead to make a film about the life of late singer Amy Winehouse.

The Winehouse family announced Thursday that it has accepted a proposal by Kapadia and producer James Gay-Rees which it believes will "look at Amy's story sensitively, honestly and without sensationalizing her."

The family said it had previously turned down several documentary proposals about the Back to Black singer, who died in 2011 at age 27 after a brief, spectacular career that saw her win five Grammy Awards.

Kapadia’s Senna, about the life of Brazilian F1 driver Ayrton Senna, who died in an accident in 1994, was named best documentary and outstanding British film at the BAFTA awards last year.

The Winehouse film will tell the story of the singer’s rise to fame and musical highlights as well as her relationship with husband Blake Fielder-Civil, who her family blames for her struggles with substance abuse.   

Focus Features International says the movie will feature previously unseen archive footage.

With files from The Associated Press