Singer Celine Dion is set to release her documentary, I Am Celine Dion, today (June 25). With the Amazon Prime Video project, Celine Dion puts her truest self in front of her fans and her struggles with the Stiff Person Syndrome. The documentary premiered in New York last week and it was an emotional affair for Celine. The ‘My Heart Will Go On’ hitmaker fought back tears as she addressed fans. However, how was the night for the documentary’s director, Irene Taylor? In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, she compared the night with a Celine Dion concert.
I Am Celine Dion marked Taylor’s first documentary project that involves a global star. Revisiting the premiere night, the director said that it was a ‘jarring’ experience. “First of all, I have never made a film about a big global superstar. I have never done that before so to be in a room with, I am going to guess maybe 30 to 40 percent of the people in the room were fans, it was very jarring and it wasn’t just ‘Oh, they love the movie’ because I hear everyone clapping every time she sings. It wasn’t that. People laughed when I thought it was a serious moment because they were so giddy with happiness to see Celine revealing herself and they were just so happy to get the authentic Celine,” the filmmaker confessed.
“I felt like at times, I was in a Celine concert with all these people. I have never seen Celine in concert so I felt like the New York premiere was the closest thing I ever got to be at a Celine Dion concert. I could hear every time the audience got revved up when the music started. We don’t put a lot of Celine music in the film but the response was really interesting. I have never had that experience before. I love watching my films with the audience, it’s really good feedback. It’s not just that it makes me feel good. It’s really more like where I fit in the pantheon of emotions and responses,” she added.
Given that this was a one-of-a-kind project for Taylor, the filmmaker admitted that her biggest challenge while making ‘I Am Celine Dion’ was to be the first person witness to the singer’s struggle. “I think the biggest challenge, on a human level, was watching what Celine was going through. In the last few years, she has not only been alone in her home with her children, I think there has been loneliness. We can be alone but not feel lonely. I think she really did feel a loneliness.
“Because she had been given so much love from her fans, and when she performs, she likes to perform with them, and she had lost her husband, she was several years out as a widow. So I think on a human level, that was hard for me because I really felt for her and I think as a filmmaker, I didn’t want to be cold but I wanted to always remain in my head and my heart. I believe if a filmmaker makes a film with only their heart, it is too mushy. You need to have some structure. Her medical episode is probably a prime example of this, I had a very human response but ultimately I did decide to keep filming because we thought we may never use this but I will film it,” she said.
Although this is the first time Irene Taylor has shot such a documentary, she has worked on several documentaries. This includes a documentary titled The Final Inch, which puts the health workers fighting towards eradicating polio. It was released in 2009. Taylor admitted she has not visited India in the last decade. But wants to visit the country for another project.
“I haven’t visited India in the last 10 years. I would love to make another film in India, I would like to make a different kind of film in India. I mean a different kind of film than I have made before in India,” she said.
I Am Celine Dion releases on Amazon Prime Video today.
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