Amy Winehouse Film Sets Release Date With First Look Image

The previously announced movie about the life of singer Amy Winehouse is nearing release; Focus announced today that Back to Black will debut in theaters next spring.

The film stars Marisa Abela as the late Winehouse — that’s her in the images above and below. At least in the publicity photos, Abela’s resemblance to Winehouse is really striking.

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Back to Black was directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and written by Matt Greenhalgh. (The same team previously made Nowhere Boy, a film about the life of John Lennon in the years prior to his stardom with the Beatles. A press release about the movie boasts that it was “made with the full support of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Publishing and The Amy Winehouse Estate” — which means it will include Winehouse’s famous songs in the film.

Winehouse has previously been the subject of a very good documentary — Amy, directed by Asif Kapadia, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary for 2015 — but this will be the first fiction film. Here is Back to Black’s official synopsis:

BACK TO BLACK is a never-before-seen glimpse into Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame and the release of her groundbreaking studio album, Back to Black. Told from Amy’s perspective, the film is an unapologetic look at the woman behind the phenomenon and the relationship that inspired one of the most legendary albums of all time.

Back to Black is scheduled to open in theaters on May 10, 2024.