The UK’s WestEnd Films has boarded sales on Formula One feature documentary Lauda, directed by Copa 71 UK filmmaker James Erskine.
The documentary tells the story of Niki Lauda, the three-time Austrian Formula One world champion. It is being produced by Esther Randall for Noah Media Group in association with New Black Films.
Lauda charts his rise to the pinnacle of motorsport, his near-fatal 1976 crash and his return to racing. It will also explore Lauda’s reinvention as an entrepreneur and founder of Lauda Air, fighting to uncover the truth behind the fatal air crash that nearly destroyed his airline.
Rights have been sold to the UK (Sky), Austria (ORF) and France (Canal+). WestEnd is aiming to secure theatrical deals at TIFF.
Contributors include Lauda’s son Mathias Lauda and Daniel Brühl, who portrayed Lauda in Ron Howard’s 2013 film Rush.
“Niki Lauda’s story contains perhaps the greatest survival, and the greatest comeback, in sporting history,” suggested Erskine, who previously worked with WestEnd on the thriller Ignition. “His life is, in many ways, the story of F1 over the last half century, but it is also much more than that.”
“At a moment when the sport is reaching an enormous new global audience, Lauda has the potential to travel far beyond the traditional sports documentary space,” added Maya Amsellem, managing director of WestEnd Films.
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