Asif Kapadia

[INTERVIEW] AMY Asif Kapadia Text Radhika Iyengar BAFTA award-winning filmmaker, Johnstone, author of Amy Amy Amy humour. You will be surprised to know Asif Kapadia has crafted an interesting would go on to write, ‘Everyone wanted how funny and intelligent she is! When niche for himself. He’s gained an admi- a piece of her.’ you meet her young, she is so different rable momentum for producing stirring Through his documentary, Asif, to the person who becomes famous. biopics about icons the world has loved like a relentless scalpel peels off layers I think that was a big part of her jour- and admired. Archival footage forms of this larger-than-life persona to pre- ney. The more I sat down and watched the backbone of his directorial lan- sent the real Amy—the bruised, bro- her [footage], the more I learned about guage—ingeniously, he pieces together ken, utterly human Amy. The film takes her and felt it was a story that needed footage shot at varying points of time, you back to the starting point and maps to be told, because people have such a to mould a narrative that is truthful and her tragic trajectory. ‘You already know skewed idea of who she was, and there visceral in its account of retelling the the ending,’ Asif says, ‘but you don’t is so much more to her than just the icons’ story. His eccentric and arguably know why that ending happened… voice. ground-breaking style has brought him the film tries to make you understand much acclaim, celebrating him as one of what happened in between for her to How did you immerse yourself into her the most gifted documentarians of con- to reach that point.’ Platform speaks to highly intense, glamorized world? Where temporary times. With praiseworthy Asif about his stunning biopic (which did you begin? films like Senna and The Warrior under releases this July), on the musical super- Well, I just started talking to people. I his belt, Asif now takes on the role of star who burned out before she even interviewed people: we would just sit telling Amy Winehouse’s story. began. down and have a chat; there was no For Amy, it was drama from the agenda. I had a lot of questions, but beginning—a tragic tale built for mass Before venturing out to make a biopic I never got around to asking them. I consumption. She had mastered the art on Amy, what was the relationship that would just let them talk, and through of translating her grief, her romantic you shared with her? talking, one thing would lead to anoth- ruminations and her disappointments When I started making the film, I knew er. Most of the people I spoke to had with men, into beautiful, haunting her songs, I knew her voice, I had the been carrying a lot of pressure and pain music that turned into Grammy-win- records, but I didn’t know her—I had inside of them and nobody had ever ning anthems overnight. Amy was an never met her. I normally make films spoken to them. Since I was not a part of enigma—a seductive songstress with about subjects I don’t really know too her story, because I was not connected an absurd hairdo and a tiny frame, but much about; I learn on the journey. Now to her life or was in the music business, a voice that could hit you like a cannon of course, I know a lot about her—I’ve they felt free to tell me what they really ball. The television and the tabloids seen so many of her incredible perfor- felt. It became almost like this thera- transformed her into a dysfunctional mances. What is interesting about her is peutic process for them. goddess—crowds worshipped her, fol- that it’s not just the voice, it’s her writ- I interviewed over a 100 people. Dur- lowed her, imitated her and fed on eve- ing. For me, the hardest thing ever is to ing those interviews, they would tell ry morsel of information they could get write something that is original, emo- me, ‘Look, I have this video, I have this a hold of through the media. As Nick tional, personal, which has depth and photograph, I have these phone mes- 138 · PLATFORM · CREATIVE LIFESTYLE · JUL/AUG 2015 Amy Winehouse performing at MTV Movie Awards, 2007. (c) Getty Images. Awards, at MTV Movie Amy Winehouse performing JUL/AUG 2015 · PLATFORM · CREATIVE LIFESTYLE · 139 [INTERVIEW] sages’—and they’d share their memories [with me]. So the film is not only their interviews, but also the memories they have of Amy. They shared material that they held very close to themselves, Leslie Hasler and they trusted me enough to give me that material to put in the film. So the film is a construction of the material that I discovered as I was going around Photography talking to people. In a way, this is a film within a film. During these interviews, what was the first most striking bit about her that hit Asif Kapadia, you? I think it was the humour. When she was young, she looked so healthy—she had such wit, and her eyes were amaz- ing and beautiful and bright. She’s very different to the person who eventually became famous. Of course, when she’s young, you can see all of her issues already being there, but they really begin to surface when money, fame and the wrong people enter her life. It all kind of explodes! She began doing a lot of things to keep herself medicated in order to numb the pain that she was in. There were a lot of things that happened around her and at that time, she just wanted to shut herself off from the world. It felt like she became a bit of a recluse. So, it’s a complicated story and journey. But really, it was her humour that was a big revelation, and her incredible ability as a writer. Could you talk a bit about who Amy was as an adolescent? I would say that you just need to read the lyrics of her songs. The clue is already there—she’s talked about it all. It’s very hard to explain, because there are so many elements to her. So there is no one obvious answer. It’s her real life which is much more complex—family, friends, boyfriends, husbands, depres- sion, drink, drugs, falling in love, being dumped by the one you love—so many things happened to her that created insecurities within her that manifested themselves in many ways. Then she became famous and was surrounded by people, and she wondered, ‘Are they 140 · PLATFORM · CREATIVE LIFESTYLE · JUL/AUG 2015 A still from the biopic, AMY. here because they like me or because you go along, her relationship with the Well, that’s where the filmmaking comes I’m rich and famous?’ And if you’re not camera becomes darker and in a way, in. Of course you already know the end- sure of yourself, if you are not confident, more violent. You can see her becom- ing, but you don’t know why that end- then you don’t know whom to trust. So ing more and more afraid of the cam- ing happened. It is the beginning that is these were all issues that were intrinsic era, because rather than friendly people really important. You know that her sto- to her life. filming her (and her filming herself a lot ry ends a certain way, but my questions as well), there are people who are film- always are, ‘Why did it happen? How did Amy was constantly followed—the ing her to sell the footage. So it becomes it happen?’ And that’s why I made the cameras catapulted her into stardom, paparazzi—you see people using the film, because it made no sense to me as the cameras brought her fame, and it camera to humiliate her. So the camera, to why someone would die that young was this fame that unfortunately dic- rather than being a friendly tool which in this day and age in front of our eyes? tated her downfall. Now, it is the foot- helps you take a photograph and make How was it possible? Why didn’t anyone age from these cameras that tell the a memory, becomes the very means of do anything to stop it? So the film is real- world her story. attacking her, and that’s very much a ly going backwards from that point. You Yeah, I mean the cameras are a big part part of the movie experience. already know the ending, but the film of the story. When you see the film, tries to make you understand what hap- you’ll realize that it starts off with the The irony about biopics is that most of pened in between for her to reach that camera being friendly towards her— us already know the individual’s story. point. Amy’s life was very complicated— the videos are basically footage shot More importantly, we know how it’s she was incredibly intelligent and com- by her friends, her first manager, her going to end. In the case of AMY, we plicated—so the film became my way of boyfriend—you know, people who she already know that the narrative has a giving you enough of the back story to knows and loves. However, slowly as sad ending.

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