Sky to air definitive portrait of ®F1 champion Damon Hill

Sky have today announced the acquisition of Sky Exclusive documentary film, Hill, coming to Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW later this year.

The 90-minute film – featuring exclusive, intimate interviews with Damon and his family – tells how he overcame the adversity of losing his legendary father Graham Hill to follow in his footsteps and become a world champion himself.

The emotional doc, set against the backdrop of the fastest sport in the world, reveals the inside story of how Damon fought a furious battle with one of the greatest of all time Michael Schumacher, and dealt with the death of another iconic driver, Ayrton Senna, his team-mate at the time, who tragically lost his life aged just 34.

Producer of Hill, and F1 presenter on Sky Sports Simon Lazenby said: “We were in Montreal airport waiting for our flight home following the Canadian Grand Prix in 2018. Over a beer with some friends, Damon and I were talking about sports documentaries we had enjoyed when he reminded us that his story was a pretty good one. Seven years later and here we are, excited about the release of a film that has been a labour of love for all involved. It’s the end of a very long journey that we hope will be worth it for the audience because it really is an incredible story told beautifully by our director Alex Holmes and editor Cinzia Baldessari.”

Damon Hill, F1 World Drivers’ Championship winner and subject of the film said: “Alex, Simon and the team have done a really terrific job of unravelling the tangle of my life and career. It was an unconventional route to the top, but all the more interesting for that, I think. Having watched the film, the overwhelming feeling is one of relief. Not so much that the film is finally complete - seven years after that initial fateful chat with Simon in Canada - but more that I do not have to go through my racing career all over again! It’s exhausting to relive all the dramas and alarming to reflect on all the good luck that I must have had to survive, let alone succeed. Whether my story inspires someone else to become an F1 World Champion, or is an object lesson in how not to do it, I’m not sure. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions!”

Alex Wright, Acquisitions Manager at Sky said “We are delighted to be bringing Hill to audiences in the UK and Ireland on Sky and Now. Damon Hill is a British motorsport icon, and we know our customers will love this powerful and exciting film”.

Hill is directed by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Alex Holmes (Maiden, The Rig) and produced by Simon Lazenby & Victoria Barrell of Sylver Entertainment (McEnroe, Schmeichel) and Cora Palfrey & Luc Roeg of Independent Entertainment (Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now, My Policeman). Sky acquired the rights to the documentary from Signature Entertainment.

Full synopsis:

One Name. Two World Champions. In 1996, Damon Hill claimed the ®Formula 1 World Championship. In doing so he cemented his place in motorsport history, following in the footsteps of his legendary father, Graham Hill. Hill is a unique family story set against the backdrop of the fastest sport in the world. How Damon Hill defied the odds and overcame tragedy to step out of his father’s shadow and become a racing legend in his own right.

About Sky

Sky is one of Europe’s leading media and entertainment companies and is part of Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company that connects people to moments and experiences that matter. At Sky we Believe in Better. It’s in our DNA. 

We’re famous for innovation. We offer the world’s smartest TV, Sky Glass; our plug and play streaming puck, Sky Stream; the best aggregation platform, Sky Q: the best aggregation platform, Sky Q; and streaming services NOW and WOW. We provide connectivity you can count on in mobile, fast, secure, reliable residential and business broadband, as well as smart home protection through Sky Protect. 

We’re Europe’s premium content producer. We create award-winning original content, produce the biggest live sporting events, and we provide free access to news and the arts. Our new state-of-the-art film and TV studio Sky Studios Elstree is projected to attract £3 billion of new production investment to the UK in its first five years and create up to 2,000 jobs. 

We are a diverse and inclusive employer that has a positive impact on society and the communities that we work and live in. Sky plays a major role in the UK’s cultural economy and, in 2022 alone, supported a contribution of £20 billion to UK GDP, broadcast 70,000 hours of elite sports coverage and invested over £130 million to provide news to consumers free of charge.

Signature Entertainment is an award-winning film distribution and production company. Founded in 2011 it has become the leading independent distributor in the UK with an ever-growing global presence and an expansion into production and international sales in 2018. Signature has released over 1,500 films since its inception, with recent releases including Lily James, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Himesh Patel indie comedy Greedy People, the saturation release of hugely popular indie horror franchise Terrifier 3 and Aaron Eckhart action thriller Chief of Station.

www.signature-entertainment.co.uk

Independent Entertainment specialises in the development, financing, production, and sales of independent feature films and documentaries. Led by CEO Luc Roeg and COO Cora Palfrey, the company’s recent successes include the Netflix Original documentary LEWIS CAPALDI: HOW I’M FEELING NOW, Amazon’s MY POLICEMAN, and the highly anticipated F1 documentary HILL.

Their diverse slate also includes projects with celebrated filmmakers such as Brandon Cronenberg, Michael Grandage, and Ruth Platt. Independent’s extensive credits include Lynne Ramsay’s WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, David Mackenzie’s STARRED UP, Nia DaCosta’s LITTLE WOODS, and Duncan Jones’ BAFTA-winning MOON.