Hackney-born director Asif Kapadia won an Oscar last night at the 88th Academy Awards ceremony for his biographical documentary portraying the life of Amy Winehouse.

Kapadia, 44, who has described himself as a “Hackney boy, born and bred,” accepted the award for Best Documentary Feature. He attended Tyssen primary school and Homerton House secondary school and lived in Stamford Hill. 

In his speech, Kapadia said: “This film’s all about Amy; showing who she really was – funny, intelligent, witty.”

Amy follows the ultimately tragic story of the troubled and influential singer, who passed away aged 27 in 2011. It is the highest grossing British documentary of all time, taking in £3m on its opening weekend.

The film led to Winehouse being nominated for her second posthumous nomination for “Best British Female Solo Artist” at the 2016 Brit awards. The documentary, which used exclusive interviews and archived footage to tell Winehouse’s story, was described as a tragic masterpiece by the Guardian.

Amy has won every major award it has been nominated for including a Grammy for Best Musical Film, and the Best Documentary award at the BAFTAs, among a total of 27 awards.

Kapadia has previously been praised for his acclaimed 2010 documentary, Senna, a film following the life and death of Brazilian motor-racing champion Ayrton Senna. The director is currently working on a documentary about Argentine footballer Diego Maradona.

Also nominated for the Best Documentary Feature award were What Happened, Miss Simone?, Cartel Land, The Look of Silence and Winter on Fire: The Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom.