Le Mans documentary ‘reveals McQueen’s drive and ambition’

But he admitted watching the footage — including around 500 boxes of rushes long thought lost which the directors discovered under a sound stage in America — was difficult as it also reveals his father’s infidelity: “To see everything that went down was quite hard.”

The seed of the film was suggested to McKenna, 41, and Clarke, 50, best known as an ITV sports reporter, by executive producer Andrew Marriott.

Finding the footage was “the holy grail” according to Clarke, the son of the late director Alan Clarke — but interviews with figures including McQueen’s then wife, Neile Adams McQueen, revealed the “human story”.

The two men, who are based in London, said it was incredible to have been chosen for Cannes, where the film is in the Cannes Classic strand.

The documentary is set for release in the UK this year.

@Louise_Jury