F1: Sundance Audience Prize For Senna Movie

Formula 1

F1: Sundance Audience Prize For Senna Movie

A triumph at the Sundance Film Festival...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted January 30, 2011 Balen (BEL)

Ayrton Senna, driver of the #1 Honda Marlboro McLaren MP4-7A Honda 3.5 V12 during practice for the San Marino Grand Prix on 17th May 1992 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, San Marino. (Photo: Getty Images)

The Senna documentary could be heading for a wider distribution in the USA after it won the World Cinema Audience Award in the World Documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

Senna was one of 12 films from an entry of 796 to make the final cut for World Documentary at Sundance, and it has received rave reviews all week. Senna also won an award in Rome on Saturday.

“This is fantastic,” said director Asif Kapadia, who picked up the prize in Utah. “First time properly in Sundance, first documentary. It’s been an amazing experience. This festival has kind of restored my faith in festivals almost. It’s about the films, it’s about the filmmakers, it’s about the audience. Every seat is full and it’s just been amazing. This kind of tops it off.”

It did not win the main World Documentary prize, as voted for by the Sundance jury. In fact Senna was perhaps unlucky to come up against Hell and Back Again, a film which despite being in the World Documentary section has a very American theme, and which was bound to be well received in Utah – it even has music from Willie Nelson!

In the official Sundance guide the story is described thus: “Told through the eyes of one Marine from the start of his 2009 Afghanistan tour to his distressing return and rehabilitation in the US, we witness what modern ‘unconventional’ warfare really means to the men who are fighting it.”

As a USA/UK co-production Hell and Back Again was eligible for the World Documentary section.

Adam Cooper notched up his 26th season as a racing journalist in 2010. Born in London, England, he saw his first F1 race at age 10 in 1976. He began freelancing for Autosport magazine in 1985 and was on the fulltime staff from 1987-92. He then went freelance again, initially spending two years in Japan before following the 1994 Champcar series from a base in Indianapolis. He has not missed a Grand Prix since Suzuka ‘94, a run that has extended to Abu Dhabi ’10. Adam has written books about Eddie Irvine, Piers Courage and Michael Schumacher. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Check out Adam's Blog or follow him on Twitter.