Kercher parents slam Amanda Knox movie

The parents of Meredith Kercher have condemned a new film adaptation of the events surrounding their daughter's murder.

Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy recreates the life of the US student dubbed "Foxy Knoxy" by the media, who was convicted of murdering her British housemate in the Italian town of Perugia in 2007 in what Italian prosecutors alleged was a frenzied sex game that spiralled out of control.

The movie has been criticised by Meredith's father John Kercher, who said: "To actually see it like this is very distressing...The scenes are absolutely horrific. It's awful what these film people have done."

The dramatised story of the events leading up to the murder will be broadcast on the Lifetime network on February 21.

An Italian court is currently hearing Knox's appeal of her conviction. The half-naked body of Kercher, 21, was found locked in her bedroom with a stab wound to her throat in the house she shared with Knox and two other students.

Producers said they did not contact the families of either Knox, now 23, or Kercher, or Knox's Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who was also convicted and jailed.

Instead they worked from detailed Italian court documents about the case, as well as media reports, many of which painted Knox as a promiscuous and calculating killer.

Producers said they wanted to focus on the human drama and the relationship between Knox and her mother, rather than trying to establish guilt or innocence in the case that made headlines around the world.

Filming took place in Rome, Perugia and Seattle in the autumn of 2010. Hayden Panettiere, best known for her role as a cheerleader in the NBC television series Heroes, plays Amanda Knox.