JANUARY 30, 2011

Senna movie scoops top award

The new Senna movie has won a prestigious American award at the annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Much of the world's motor racing press were treated to a screening of the film at last year's Brazilian Grand Prix and, predictably, were captivated. The American award, in front of a much more hard-bitten, critical and potentially ambivalent audience, is just reward for an excellent piece of documentary film-making.

Senna, directed by Asif Kapadia and written by Manish Pandey, has won the World Cinema Audience Award. It has already been released in both Brazil, Senna's native country, and Japan, where the three-time champion had a huge following stemming from his long association with Honda. It is due to be released in the UK shortly before the British GP in July and the award will also mean that it could fare well in the traditionally more difficult US market.