New Whitney Houston Documentary Will Showcase a Side of the Singer That Fans Never Knew

Six years after her tragic death at age 48, Whitney Houston will be back on the big screen in a documentary due out July 6. "I approached her life like a mystery story," Whitney director Kevin Macdonald revealed in a recent interview. "Why did someone with so much raw talent and beauty self-destruct so publicly and painfully?"

The filmmaker even received cooperation from Whitney's estate to make the highly-anticipated documentary. "They entrusted me with the 'keys to the vault' while giving me complete freedom to follow the story wherever it went," he said. "At heart, Whitney is an intimate family story that reveals a new side to a woman that even her most die-hard fans never knew."

Whitney and Bobby Brown.

"The film will for the first time, give audiences an unprecedented and unique look into Whitney's life. This will be an unflinching and honest portrait of a rare talent told by those closest to her," a statement recently released by the movie's distribution company, Altitude, read. "The film will showcase exclusive audio and never-before-seen video archive from her time as a recording artist and performer."

Whitney sadly passed away in 2012 at age 48 from an accidental drowning after being found unconscious and submerged in a hotel bathtub. Her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, suffered the same fate at age 22 in 2015. The same year Whitney's only daughter passed away, Lifetime made a movie about the singer's life with Angela Bassett as the director.

Whitney's mother, Cissy Houston, previously revealed to Enertainment Tonight, "Lifetime has chosen to go ahead with the movie about Whitney in spite of my family's objections. No one connected with this movie knew Whitney or anything about her relationship with Bobby," before adding, "please let her rest."

Whitney and her daughter, Bobbi.

Unlike Lifetime's movie, Altitude says that Kevin has been given "full access to [Whitney's] family and collaborators," so "by casting [Whitney's] story and her work in a new and revealing light, Whitney will reassess the life and legacy of one of music's biggest stars."

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