Ceri Levy was smart enough to recognise he was in the right place at the right time. He was a long-time friend of Damon Albarn of the band Blur (for which Levy produced the 1994 Starshaped documentary), and Levy was present at the kitchen table when Albarn and Jamie Hewlett started talking about radical ideas for a band called Gorillaz, an act to incorporate multimedia presentations including animated alter-egos. Levy thought it was the kind of creative project that would do well on film.

Seven years later, after following Gorillaz from inception to worldwide success (sales of more than 15 million albums and six Grammy nominations), Levy is putting the finishing touches to the film, Bananaz.

"It's more than a documentary about musicians; it's been prepared in a way so that it comes across as a feature film, and isn't just for Gorillaz fans," says Levy. "There's no talking heads. There are stories, it's not just two blokes in a studio."

The project, about 90-minutes long, is in the final stages of editing and HanWay Films is handling international sales. Levy produced as well, with Slingshot's Rachel Connors, and he financed the production himself.

Because of his unique access, Levy shot more than 260 hours of footage over the seven years. He was excited to return to film-making, after working on BBC TV documentaries years ago before taking a break to recover from an illness.

Levy thinks the project will travel well internationally. "Gorillaz are well known worldwide," he said. "This is also a film about two people working on one idea and seeing that idea come to life." He is hoping for a theatrical release. "When it's just talking heads I'm never sure if that's a cinema experience, but with this I think people will enjoy it as a theatrical experience."