Marisa Abela to portray Amy Winehouse in new film

LONDON

British actress Marisa Abela will portray Amy Winehouse in a biopic about the late singer, production and distribution company Studiocanal has said.

Called “Back to Black” and directed by British filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson, the movie will focus on Winehouse’s “vibrant years living in London in the early aughts and her intense journey to fame.”

The six-time Grammy Award winner died from alcohol poisoning at her north London home on July 23, 2011. Winehouse, who struggled with drink and drug problems through much of her career, was 27 years old.

Speculation had been rife as to who would play the “Rehab” and “Back to Black” singer. Rising star Abela, 26, is best known for high octane television drama “Industry,” about a group of graduates competing for jobs at a top investment bank.

“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,” Taylor-Johnson said in a statement.

Taylor-Johnson is known for directing the first “Fifty Shades of Grey” film, an adaptation from the hit book trilogy, drama “A Million Little Pieces” as well as episodes for television series “Gypsy” and “Solos.”

A 2015 documentary “AMY” won director Asif Kapadia an Oscar, although at the time the singer’s father Mitch Winehouse called it misleading and said the family had disassociated itself from the film.