Princess Diana documentary in the works

A new documentary film about Princess Diana is in the works.

The project, titled 'Diana', is being developed by Lightbox – a production company founded by cousins Simon and Jonathan Chinn. The former has won two best documentary Academy Awards for 'Man on Wire' and 'Searching for Sugar Man' with Jonathan landing Emmys for 'LA 92' and 'American High'.

Ed Perkins is directing the film which will use archive-only footage. It will draw on thousands of hours of news reports as well as previously unseen footage and photographs of the iconic royal. The project is set for a summer 2022 release to mark the 25th anniversary of Diana's death.

Perkins said: "Though we are telling a story which has been told and re-told many times, my aim is to reframe it for a modern audience and make it feel as fresh and relevant as it ever has.

"The idea of taking an archive-only approach will allow us to immerse audiences in the narrative as if it were being told in the present."

Simon and Jonathan Chinn added: "The mythology surrounding Princess Diana remains as potent as ever, but we want to paint as honest a portrait as we can of a complex woman who had a powerful influence not just on the British monarchy but on wider society.

"In doing so we also want to allow audiences not just to better understand Diana but, through her story, to come to an understanding of the era that shaped it and to connect the dots between then and now.

"To that end, this very personal, human tale about the relationship between Diana and the establishment between Diana and all of us."

The movie has been produced in association with HBO and Sky and will have its television premiere on HBO in the US and on Sky Documentaries in the UK.