The dramatic life and times of the Formula One racing champion Michael Schumacher are to be released as a feature-length film documentary described as a personal tribute to him by his family and friends.
Schumacher will tell the story of the star, from his boyhood days as a hobby go-karter in Kerpen near Cologne, to his legendary victories on the race track where he secured seven Formula One titles. It will also document the near-fatal skiing accident five years ago that left him with devastating head injuries from which he is still recovering.
The film is due for release in German and Swiss cinemas on 5 December, while the foreign licence rights – including streaming service access – will be up for grabs at the upcoming Cannes film festival, when the film’s trailer will be shown publicly for the first time. It is likely to compete for attention alongside Maradona, a documentary portrait of the legendary Argentinian footballer Diego Maradona, the screening of which he will attend.
Unlike previous film portraits of Schumacher, the making of the film by the Hamburg production house BI 14 Film has received the full backing of his family, including his wife of 24 years, Corinna, and the couple’s two children, Gina, 22, and Mick, 20, both of whom have won sporting accolades, for western horse riding and Formula 2 racing respectively.
They are reported by the German media to have worked closely alongside the award-winning film makers Michael Wech and Hanns-Bruno Kammertöns and are all interviewed in the film, as is Schumacher’s 73-year-old father, Rolf. Footage from the family archives that has never been seen publicly before, including scenes of Schumacher at home with the family, will also be included.
Scenes from Schumacher’s 50th birthday celebrations in January are expected to be included in the film, which will also celebrate the 25th anniversary of his first World Championship success, when he raced to victory over his main rival Damon Hill in Adelaide, Australia, after the two crashed spectacularly.
But the documentary is believed not to reveal the true state of Schumacher’s health and neither is it believed he will speak on camera. His skiing accident in the French resort of Meribel on 29 December 2013, a little over a year after his retirement from motor racing, almost cost him his life and left him in a coma after he crashed into a rock and suffered a traumatic brain injury, despite wearing a helmet. He spent six months being treated in hospital in Grenoble before being allowed home to start an extensive rehabilitation process.
He is said to remain dependent on a team of doctors and carers at his home in Gland, Switzerland, but the family has never made any comment on the state of his health.
Schumacher is reported to receive regular visitors and is believed to have been flown by helicopter accompanied by his carers to the Spanish island of Mallorca, where the family owns a villa, to spend his 50th birthday.
