The first trailer of Amy, the new controversial documentary about Amy Winehouse's life, has been released. It was directed by Asif Kapadia, who has also been behind Senna, the critically acclaimed Documentary about the Brazilian Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna. Amy was produced by James Gay-Rees, producer of Senna and Banksy's documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop. The documentary premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival, with many critics giving it five-star reviews, and will be in theatres on July 3.
A date for the US release has yet to be set.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Winehouse family said that they would like to disassociate themselves from the forthcoming film about their much missed and beloved Amy. The family also feels that the documentary is a missed opportunity to celebrate Amy's life and talent and that it is both misleading and contains untruths.
The documentary from A24 features Amy Winehouse's life and career, a mix of unseen archival footage, home videos, previously unheard tracks, photos and videos from her childhood, recordings of her live performances (including her endearingly stunned reaction when receiving the Grammy Award) and an interview in which she contemplated fame.
In addition, Amy also hints at her fame-enabled downfall to drugs and alcohol.
According to the interview footage that appears in the first teaser, the singer says "I'm not a girl trying to be a star or trying to be anything besides a musician. I don't think I'm going to be at all famous. I don't think I could handle it. I would probably go mad."
Chilling words of Amy Winehouse can be heard in the trailer over the isolated vocals to "Back to Black."
Amy Jade Winehouse was born in London, England, on September 14, 1983. She was a singer and songwriter known for her deep vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including jazz, pop, soul and R&B. Amy received 23 awards from 60 nominations, including five Grammy Awards from her 2006 album "Back to Black," and on February 13th, 2012 was ranked 26th on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music list.
At the end of her life, Amy's enormous talent was overshadowed by her addiction to drugs and alcohol. The singer died tragically of alcohol poisoning on 23 July 2011, at age 27.