The Beatles have granted permission for their music to be used in a documentary about their longtime secretary, Freda Kelly. Four of the band's tunes have been licensed for Good Ol' Freda, in what is a major coup for the indie production.

It has been less than two years since the makers of Good Ol' Freda were struggling to raise $50,000 toward their film. Now, the movie is set to premiere at SXSW, and producers have secured one of the rarest prizes in music soundtracks: the Beatles. For director Ryan White to win the use of Love Me Do, I Saw Her Standing There, and two other tracks, according to the Hollywood Reporter, he needed the approval of Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, plus the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison.

Even then, the privilege of a Beatles score is usually prohibitively expensive: the TV show Mad Men reportedly spent $250,000 (£160,000) to license a portion of Tomorrow Never Knows for an episode last year. "Clearly the living Beatles have a lot of respect for [Freda]," White told the Reporter.

Kelly worked for the Beatles for 11 years, managing the band's office and running their official fanclub. "[She] did a remarkable job for the most famous band in the world, but never sought any credit for her role and never sold out the 'four lads' throughout her entire life," White told the blog SXSW Baby. "[The film] is a real character study of ethics and what loyalty means."

White has a personal connection to the film: his uncle was Billy Kinsley, founder of the Merseybeats, and he grew up seeing Kelly at family parties. "I've known her for quite some time," the 31-year-old said, "but I never knew that Freda was the Beatles' secretary, she's very private about it." Kelly's decision to finally tell her story was for the benefit of her two-year-old grandson. "She sees it as a sort of home movie."

Another member of the Beatles' larger circle was also in the news this week: Tony Sheridan, who played with the Beatles during their early Hamburg years, has died. "Tony was a good guy," McCartney wrote on his official website. "We regularly watched his late night performances and admired his style. He will be missed."

• This article was amended on 22 February 2013 because the original picture caption and second paragraph said the director of Good Ol' Freda was Ryan Smith. These have been corrected to say Ryan White.