New Documentary about the Formula 1 legend to be unveiled this week

Michael Schumacher’s wife and father are set to open up on camera for the first time since the Formula 1 legend’s life-changing ski accident in a new documentary about his life. The film, simply titled Schumacher, is backed by the German’s family and is expected to hit cinemas in Germany and Switzerland in December this year.  

The driver’s 50-year-old wife Corinna, who has rarely spoken in public and is believed to be responsible for guarding the secrecy of Schumacher’s health, is expected to be among the interviewees. His father Rolf, 73, is also set to appear but Schumacher himself is not expected to be in the film. A trailer for the movie will be shown at the Cannes film festival which begins this week. Producers say the film is being made to mark Schumacher’s 50th birthday - which passed in January - and the 25th anniversary of his first world title win in 1994. 
Filmmakers Michael Wech and Hanns-Bruno Kammertöns say the documentary will feature never-before seen archive footage belonging to the Schumacher family. ‘The film portrays not just an incomparable career, but also the many facets of a complex man’, producers said. 
It will show him as a ‘remorseless and daring Formula 1 driver, the ambitious sportsman, the accomplished mechanic with a unique technical flair, the reliable team player and the loving family man’, they said.  
Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kehm said: ‘Michael’s outstanding career merits a celebration 25 years after the first of his seven world titles. ‘We are very happy that this film is in such sensitive and ambitious hands.’  Benjamin Seikel of B14 Film, which is making the movie, said: ‘We’re very happy about the trust that Michael Schumacher’s family and management have shown us. Without their support, this film would not have been possible. ‘It’s time for this film. But of course we’re very aware of the responsibility that comes with it.’  
Schumacher’s medical condition has been held a closely-guarded secret since he fell and hit his head while skiing on the French Alps more than five years ago. He has not been seen in public since the accident in December 2013. The former driver, who won a record 91 races during his glittering grand prix career, spent nearly six months in an induced coma after the crash. 
Schumacher is believed to be receiving medical care at the family home near Lake Geneva in Switzerland, but updates regarding his health have been few and far between.  The wall of secrecy, enforced at the request of his wife, was established to protect one of the biggest names in modern sporting times.  In a rare update, the family said in January: ‘You can be sure that he is in the very best of hands and that we are doing everything humanly possible to help him. Please understand if we are following Michael’s wishes and keeping such a sensitive subject as health, as it has always been, in privacy. At the same time we say thank you very much for your friendship and wish you a healthy and happy year 2019.’ Daily Mail