‘Back To Black’: Everything We Know About Amy Winehouse Biopic

The Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black is set to arrive in theaters on May 10, 2024. Curious to find out more about the film? Here’s everything we know so far.

What Is Back To Black About?

The film will offer 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.”

When Does It Premiere?

Prior to its premiere in the U.S., Back To Black will debut on April 12 in the U.K. and Poland, followed by April 18 in Germany and the Netherlands, April 24 in France, and April 25 in New Zealand. The film was made with the support of Amy’s estate.  Ahead of the film’s official premiere, the official trailer is now available and you can watch it below.

The Cast of Back To Black

The movie will star Industry’s Marisa Abela as Winehouse, along with Jack O’Connell (Ferrari) as Amy’s former husband Blake Fielder-Civil, Eddie Marsan (Fair Play) as her father Mitch, and Lesley Manville (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris) as her grandmother Cynthia Winehouse.

Film director Sam Taylor-Johnson said via an official press release: “Discovering a talent like Marisa Abela is akin to finding gold dust. The moment she looked into the lens at her first audition I knew she was the perfect actor to play Amy Winehouse. She put in an enormous amount of work, attention to every detail and she trained daily for hours to be able to sing throughout the entire movie. She doesn’t impersonate Amy, she inhabits her.”

Who Else Is Involved?

Focus Features announced that the movie is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy), with a script written by Matt Greenhalgh (Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool). Taylor-Johnson has previously directed the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy and the first entry in the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise.

When was Back To Black Filmed?

Back to Black began principal photography in January of 2023. The movie was filmed in a variety of London hotspots where Winehouse grew into the artist who became cherished around the world. Scenes were filmed at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, where the icon first began to perform live and where she started to hone in on her now legendary sound. That was also the spot where the film’s director, Sam Taylor-Johnson, saw her perform for the first time.

Taylor-Johnson’s Connection to Amy

Taylor-Johnson also revealed her intimate relationship to Winehouse’s world. “My connection to Amy began when I left college and was hanging out in the creatively diverse London borough of Camden,” Taylor-Johnson said in a statement. “I got a job at the legendary KOKO club, and I can still breathe every market stall, vintage shop, and street… A few years later, Amy wrote her searingly honest songs whilst living in Camden. Like with me, it became part of her DNA.”

She added, “I first saw her perform at a talent show at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho, and it was immediately obvious she wasn’t just ‘talent’… she was genius. As a filmmaker, you can’t really ask for more. I feel excited and humbled to have this opportunity to realize Amy’s beautifully unique and tragic story to cinema accompanied by the most important part of her legacy—her music. I am fully aware of the responsibility, with my writing collaborator—Matt Greenhalgh—I will create a movie that we will all love and cherish forever. Just like we do Amy.”

Shop the best of Amy Winehouse’s discography on vinyl and more.