A new documentary film about one of the great drivers in Formula One racing history, Brazil’s Ayrton Senna is now out in limited release which includes the Los Angeles Film Festival later this week. The movie, which will go wider in August, takes you inside the sport with brilliant on-board cameras as well as the politics and rivalries that were part of the three-time world champion’s world.
Filmmakers James Rees, Manish Pandey, Asif Kapadia and Eric Fellner created a story with broad dimensions about the charismatic Senna. They secured previously unseen footage and access from the sport’s governing body as well as the driver’s family.
“His story is amazing, “ says director Kapadia, and we have this three-act structure to work with. You have his rise, his success, and then the challenges he faces when he gets to the top. There is the ‘bad guy’ Jean-Marie Balestre (France’s Head of F1 Racing), and the rivalry with four-time World Champion Alain Prost. Then there’s Senna’s personal side – his family, his girlfriends, the relationship he has with Brazil. There’s tension, drama, tragedy. It is absolutely what films should be, and it is all real.” 
