London shoot underway on Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black

Filming will begin on Monday, January 16 on Studiocanal, Focus Features and Monumental Pictures’ Back To Black, starring Marisa Abela as music icon Amy Winehouse.

Sam Taylor-Johnson will direct the UK-US production, which will depict Winehouse’s vibrant years living in London in the early noughties and her intense journey to fame. A first look at Abela as Winehouse has been released, above.

Matt Greenhalgh wrote the Back To Black script; he previously collaborated with Taylor-Johnson on 2009’s Nowhere Boy, about the teenage years of The Beatles’ John Lennon.

Focus will distribute Back To Black in the US, with Universal Pictures International handling international distribution, excluding the UK, France, Germany, Aus/NZ, Benelux, Scandinavia, and Poland which will be handled by Studiocanal.

Alison Owen and Debra Hayward are producing for UK company Monumental Pictures, which has credits including How To Build A Girl and Cats. Nicky Kentish-Barnes is an executive producer, with Studiocanal’s Ron Halpern and Joe Naftalin, and Taylor-Johnson.

Back To Black will feature many of Winehouse’s songs, and has the backing of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Publishing and The Amy Winehouse Estate.

Abela is best-known for her breakout role in HBO and BBC Two banking drama Industry. Her film credits include Rogue Agent from Screen Stars of Tomorrow Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson; Jamie Adams’ She Is Love; and Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Barbie.