‘Back to Black’ — What to Expect

A biopic of London’s late soulful songstress Amy Winehouse will be gracing our screens very soon. Named Back to Black after Winehouse’s 2006 single and studio album of the same name, the upcoming movie promises to highlight the highs and lows of her life, while also capturing what made her so special in the first place. The film will chronicle the British singer-songwriter’s early career as a North London jazz musician, and her meteoric rise to critical and widespread audience acclaim with singles like “Back to Black,” “You Know I’m No Good,” and “Rehab.”

After Winehouse’s tragic death in 2011, filmmakers had been trying their hand at a biopic feature to no avail. The only film that made it past the development stage was the excellent documentary film Amy, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary in 2016. Amy revealed behind-the-scenes footage of Winehouse that allowed audiences to gain a deeper insight into the singer’s psyche. In 2018, Winehouse’s estate gave the green light for this biopic about her life and career. Find out more about the film in the guide below.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on January 23, 2024.

Does ‘Back to Black’ Have a Premiere Date?

Back to Black is currently set for release in the US on May 10th, 2024. The movie will be distributed by Focus Features in the United States, with StudioCanal UK handling all United Kingdom distribution.

Is There a Trailer for ‘Back to Black’?

One Media released a trailer on YouTube on January 11th, 2024.

Who’s In the Cast of ‘Back to Black’?

Starring in the coveted role of the Grammy-winning icon, Marisa Abela is perhaps best known for her role as Yasmin Kara-Hanani in HBO’s Industry. Apart from Industry, she has had roles in COBRA, Rogue Agent, and She is Love. Jack O’Connell of Netflix’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover will star in the role of Winehouse’s infamously toxic husband Blake Fielder-Civil, whom she was married to from 2007 to 2009. O’Connell initially rose to fame as Cook on the third and fourth seasons of the beloved and boundary-pushing teen drama, Skins. The film will also star Eddie Marsan (Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre) as Amy WInehouse’s father, Mitch Winehouse, appearing alongside Juliet Cowan as her mother, Janis Winehouse-Collins, and Academy Award nominee Lesley Manville (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris) as Amy Winehouse’s grandmother, Cynthia Winehouse.

When and Where Did ‘Back to Black’ Film?

Back to Black began principal photography in January 2023. The movie was filmed in various London hotspots where Winehouse grew into the artist we once knew and loved. Scenes were filmed at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, where the songstress first began to perform live and where she started to hone in on her unique sound. The production was spotted filming key scenes of Winehouse’s life outside her old flat in Camden Town and at Primrose Hill. Abela was spotted filming at the London Zoo with her co-star Jack O’Connell. If pictures from the set are anything to go off of, fans are in for quite the treat.

Who Is Making ‘Back to Black’?

Widely known for directing the popular 50 Shades of Gray and the critically adored Nowhere Boy, Sam Taylor-Johnson will be at the helm of this biopic. Back to Black was announced as a British-American co-production deal with StudioCanal UK, Focus Features, and Monumental Pictures handling the production. The Back to Black deal was reportedly spearheaded and closed by Anne Cherel, Aska Yamaguchi, and Sophie Leuthreau for Studiocanal, and Howard Meyers and Marin Babb for Focus Features. Alison Owen (Saving Mr. Banks) and Debra Hayward (Les Misérables) from Monumental Pictures are producing the film alongside executive producer Nicky Kentish-Barnes (What’s Love Got To Do With It?). Ron Halpern and Joe Naftalin are also on-board executive producers and are tasked with overseeing the production for Studiocanal.

The movie will be based on a script by Matt Greenhalgh, best known for writing the screenplay to the critically-acclaimed film, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, which earned him a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Polly Morgan, who serves as the cinematographer, is best known for working on feature films like 2019’s Lucy in the Sky, A Quiet Place Part II, Where The Crawdads Sing, and The Woman King.

What Is ‘Back to Black’ About?

According to StudioCanal UK and its partners Focus Features and Monumental Pictures, Back to Black will track “Amy Winehouse’s vibrant years living in London in the early aughts and her intense journey to fame.” In short, the film will recount Winehouse’s life story, starting in the early 2000s when she started out as a jazz musician, and culminating in her meteoric rise to awards and acclaim. Based on the casting news, we also know that the film will go into her relationship with her ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, and also her relationships with her family members.

“My connection to Amy began when I left college and was hanging out in the creatively diverse London borough of Camden,” director 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. 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.”