Ayrton Senna documentary, Senna: No Fear, No Limits, No equal is drawing the ire of viewers for not having been just released. The once lauded film documenting the life of the tragic Formula One racing driver, is, critics point out, now 13 years old. The documentary production team is scrambling to launch a defence of their work since it does in fact appear that the film isn’t new.
In 2012, Senna: No Fear, No Limits, No Equal, was chronologically new. At its launch, one of film maker Asif Kapadia’s people repeatedly referenced the newness of the work when questioned about its originality. ‘This is a new documentary. It is new. And so, we hope, in having made it very recently, that it will remain new. New Senna. New documentary. New newness.’ But now that his film has aged, Kapadia’s team is backtracking. ‘Look, we never ever maintained that Senna: No Fear, No Limits, No Equal was in its essence new. It wasn’t about newness. Or required newness qua newness.’
But critics point out that Kapadia’s new documentary, Senna: Newness qua Newness, again plays on the theme of newness as a strategic selling point. ‘I,’ said one. ‘I,’ he repeated, warming to his theme, ‘I think that Kapadia is a busted flush. The problem with his new work is there’s nothing new about it.’ Essentially new or in its essence new? ‘Old.’
Fans of the Brazilian motoring ace have called for a boycott of Kapadia’s works, including all future new ones. ‘For this guy to ever produce anything truly new, he’s going to have to be the newness he wants to see.’ Meaning? ‘Meaning he knew we knew the new doc wasn’t new new, just a new old version he knew not to be new.’
* Senna: No Fear, No Limits, No equal is out 13 years ago.