Senna premiere a hit in Sao Paulo

I've just come back from the premiere of the new Senna movie which took place in a very smart cinema complex in the Jardim area of Sao Paulo.

There is a real buzz about the film as you might expect, here in Brazil. It is scheduled to open next week here at over 130 cinemas and is likely to expand from there.

The premiere was attended by many Brazilian stars, models, even the coach of the national football team! From the racing world there were Felipe Massa and Emerson Fittipaldi.

The event was hosted by Viviane Senna, Ayrton's sister, who runs the Senna Foundation and it was attended by her two children, Bruno and Bianca. All of them have been heavily involved in the making of the film.

Viviane paid tribute to the film's writer, Manish Pandey, producer James Gay-Rees and director

Asif Kapaldi. It clearly took a lot for the family to agree for a documentary feature film to be made and there was a lot of trust involved.

The film uses only existing footage, much of which fans will not have seen before as it was in the FOM archives shot by many different broadcasters. There are audio extracts from many key players and the film has a very strong narrative thread. It's written as a classic three act structure, short intro to the young Senna's first initiation into the world of F1; main bulk of the film is his struggle to deal with the politics and his rivals to reach the top, then a short final act in which he dies very publicly.

It is a powerful film because it reminds you of the visceral nature of the sport, the brutality of the cars, the accidents, the politics at the same time as showing you the beauty of life lived on the limit. Senna is the best possible subject because not only did he push everything to the limit, but he also articulated it better than any other driver.

The film is due to open in Europe next May/June but we will have a JA on F1 screening in aid of the Senna Foundation in the new year at which there will also be a question and answer session with the team behind the film.