Amy Winehouse documentary trailer released | CNN

Amy Winehouse ponders fame in trailer for documentary

Story highlights

"Amy" features archival footage of the singer and original music tracks

"Amy" seeks to "truly capture not just the great artist that she was," filmmakers say

Winehouse, who died at 27, said fame would probably drive her "mad"

CNN  — 

The first trailer for a documentary on the life and music of late British singer Amy Winehouse was released Thursday.

The teaser for “Amy: The Girl Behind the Name,” set for UK release on July 3, features early footage of Winehouse talking about how her music career was born and where she believed she was headed.

“Singing has always been important to me, but I never thought, ‘I’ll end up singing’ or ‘I’ll be a singer,’ ” Winehouse said.

“I felt like I had nothing new that was coming out at the time that really represented me or the way I felt, so, you know, I just started writing.”

Winehouse, known for her bluesy voice, bouffant hairdo and numerous tattoos, struggled publicly with drugs and alcohol during a career in which she recorded two albums and won six Grammys (one posthumous). She died from alcohol poisoning at the age of 27 on July 23, 2011.

Her biggest hit, “Rehab,” chronicled the efforts of those around her to get her to submit to substance abuse treatment.

“Amy” seeks to “truly capture not just the great artist that she was, but also the funny and loving person that most people didn’t get a chance to know,” the filmmakers said on Facebook after announcing the film in 2013.

Amy Winehouse documentary gets UK release date

The trailer conveys Winehouse’s ambivalence about fame. “I’m not a girl trying to be a star or trying to be anything other than a musician,” she says.

“I don’t think I’m gonna be at all famous,” Winehouse tells an interviewer early in her career. “I don’t think I could handle it. I would probably go mad. Do you know what I mean? I would go mad.”

A life cut short: Remembering the tragedy of Amy Winehouse

Unlike an earlier look at the singer’s life, 2013’s “Fallen Star,” the documentary has been endorsed by Winehouse’s family. It will feature “extensive unseen archive footage and previously unheard tracks,” Deadline reported.

The team behind the new film includes Asif Kapadia, director of the documentary “Senna,” on the life of Brazilian Formula 1 racer Ayrton Senna. The film won two BAFTA awards.

“The award-winning producers of Senna presented a vision that would look at Amy’s story sensitively, honestly and without sensationalising her,” the family statement said. “We want this to be a tribute to her musical legacy.”’

A U.S. release date for the film has yet to be announced.

CNN’s Michael Pearson contributed to this report.