A24 Acquires Amy Winehouse Documentary (Exclusive)

A24 is in final talks to acquire Amy, a documentary about singer Amy Winehouse, for U.S. distribution.

The deal marks A24’s first documentary project. According to sources, the company is planning to release Amy theatrically this summer, and a teaser trailer will be released Thursday.

Asif Kapadia directed the doc, which chronicles the soulful British singer-songwriter’s life and career, and features previously unseen archive footage and unheard tracks.

Winehouse, whose hits included “Rehab,” “Valerie” and “Back to Black,” rose to international fame with her second album, Back to Black, which won five Grammys and sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. But along with fame and success came struggles with drugs and alcohol, which plagued her throughout her adult life. She died of alcohol poisoning in 2011 at the age of 27.

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Kapadia previously directed the 2010 documentary Senna about late Formula One star Ayrton Senna, which earned critical acclaim and picked up two BAFTA awards. Amy is described as much more than a simple music doc — it’s an intimate look at an artist’s coming of age in the spotlight.

Amy is already slated for release in the U.K. on July 3, less than a month shy of the fourth anniversary of the singer’s death. James Gay-Rees produced the film, and Cinetic handled the domestic sales while Focus International handled worldwide sales.

A24’s upcoming films include Slow West starring Michael Fassbender, which debuted at Sundance and will be released in partnership with DirecTV on May 15, and Ex Machina starring Alicia Vikander, which just premiered at SXSW and will open on April 10. Later this summer, the company’s Sundance acquisition The End of the Tour hits theaters. Other films in the pipeline include Lenny Abrahamson’s Room.