The new documentary I Am: Celine Dion features the Grammy Award-winning singer in a never-seen-before light. The documentary, which premieres on Amazon Prime Video on June 25, delves deep into her diagnosis with the rare neurological disorder stiff-person syndrome (SPS), and gives the singer an opportunity to share its devastating consequences with total honesty. (Also Read: Celine Dion Apologizes for ‘Deceiving’ Her Fans in New Amazon Documentary: ‘I’m Sorry…’)
In this exclusive interview, I Am: Celine Dion director Irene Taylor talks about collaborating with the singer, the first conversations she had about the project, and how she went about telling the story as truthfully as possible.
Tell me a little about collaborating with Celine on this project. In the film, we see her speaking to you, directly to the camera, several times where she gets very sensitive about SPS.
When we were getting to know each other, she asked me a very important question. It was, ‘Would it be okay, and would it be possible for you to make a film about me in which I am the only voice?’ ‘Would it be possible to make a film in which no one else talks about me, but I talk only about myself?’ Such a film is not only possible, but preferable. I told her that. So, from the very beginning, we were on the same page. This was a story about this time in her life… and she would be the only person giving us information about herself.
I’m also curious about the title of the film, which is ‘I am’, not ‘I was’ or ‘Who I will be.’ How did that come about?
I think this movie is a very ‘present tense’ movie. So, that’s a powerful word in English. I am, which is two letters and it’s unforgettable. You said, it’s not about who she was. Sure, we see who she was, and of course she talks about her hopes for the future. We probably as viewers, through her illness, worry about her future. We probably as viewers, worry about her future, contemplate her future. But I really want people to focus on who she was in that moment in front of the camera today.
I would also like to ask about the fans, where Celine also said how the energy of the fans helps her performance on stage. With this film, she is presenting herself to the fans in a better way than ever before. Were you conscious of this aspect as well, to show her as true and honest as possible?
Well, I didn’t make the movie for the fans, I’m grateful for his fans. Because I see that they give him so much… They give him so much joy. Not just boosting his ego, but joy. True joy. I really made a movie that I wanted to see and I didn’t meet them as a fan. I met them as a professional, who looks at it from a slightly different perspective. So, I really thought about the fans in my mind all the time, and when I saw the movie, and heard the movie a few days ago at the premiere of the movie in New York… I realized that the world of fans is like a movie in itself. It’s true, in his world, his fan base is actually quite rare.
I Am: Celine Dion will be released on Prime Video on June 25.
