This past Sunday I had the distinct pleasure of viewing one of the best documentary’s I have seen in a while.  The film was simply titled “Senna” which documented the life of Formula 1racing phenom Ayrton Senna.  I don’t think there is anyone in the car world that hasn’t heard the name Senna, but for those who haven’t, it really didn’t matter.  I actually brought my wife, who doesn’t know much about racing, and she walked out of theater in tears adoring Ayrton like the rest of us.  Don’t get me wrong, it certainly didn’t hurt to watch footage from the onboard camera as Ayrton flies through the streets of Monaco on the big screen either.

Although there was some amazing footage of Formula 1 racing and excellent documentation of the Senna/Prost wars, the film was so much more inspiring than that.  Ayrton was such a sincerely loving individual in which the film did an amazing job of showing.  I really felt as if I knew Ayrton as a friend after leaving the theater.  To many, Ayrton was a modern day hero, an underdog that everyone rooted for, because he fought every day for God and his country against impenetrable odds.  He did so because he couldn’t stop as he was quoted saying in the film.  He was a true and whole person  and an amazing competitor in every sense of the word.  He is very much missed.

The Director of the film, Asif Kapadia, was brilliant enough to get what the goal of the film was about and worked diligently with Ayrton’s family and film team to produce this wonderful tribute of a great man.  Asif was kind enough to hang around after the film for some Q & A which I was able to record and put at end of this post.  I was also fortunate to snag a picture with Asif.  If you haven’t done so already, please show your support, go out and see Senna or buy the DVD you will be very happy you did.

Watch Asif talk about making the film after the debut: