‘Hill’, documenting the life and career of Damon Hill, the former world championship winning F1 driver, was produced by the Sylver Entertainment, based in Christchurch.
The film tells the story of the life of Damon Hill, from his early years that saw his father, Graham, a two-time world champion driver himself, die in plane crash in 1975, to his world-famous rivalry with Michael Schumacher that ended with Hill winning the World Championship of Driving in 1996.
Victoria Barrell, co-founder and managing director, said: “We’ve been lucky to have the privilege to know him and be allowed to make the film.”
Damon Hill won the Formula One World Championship in 1996, following in his father’s footsteps (Image: Sylver Entertainment)
The award-winning company, which creates theatrical documentary films among other projects, was co-founded in 2020 by Victoria and Simon Lazenby, the lead presenter for F1 for Sky Sports.
Having previously made critically acclaimed documentary films such a ‘McEnroe’ and ‘Schmeichel’, Victoria and Simon wanted to tell Hill’s story since the company was first founded.
“It’s a story that we just truly believe in, said Victoria.
“It’s probably one of the most dramatic tales in Formula One.
“Damon Hill is an extraordinary man and an extraordinary F1 world champion.”
She added Simon’s relationships with many people within the F1 community allowed them the “bring people to the table” to tell Hill’s story.
The film has received five stars reviews from the Daily Mail and the Times since its release last week.
“We’ve been very excited by it,” Victoria said of the reviews and reactions from the film.
“We’re feeling thrilled.
“You’re always thrilled when a film lands well.
“We hope people get a lot from it as they watch it.”
The film is currently available on Sky in the UK and is expected to receive and international release soon.
The co-founder said she loved storytelling feels “very lucky” to do a job she loves and was “determined” to tell Hill’s story after growing up watching F1 with her father.
The company is pitching its newest production, ‘Lomu’, a feature length documentary film that tell the story of the late All Blacks rugby sensation, Jonah Lomu.