In I Am: Celine Dion, the French-Canadian singer allowed director Irene Taylor and cinematographer Nick Midwig to film her struggles with stiff person syndrome. Dion received the diagnosis in 2022 and later had to cancel her world tour due to muscle spasms and rigidity. One such spasm occurred while Taylor and Midwig were rolling, and it appears in the film.
“We both stood back and assessed, like, ‘Are we in the way?’” Midwick said during Deadline’s awards-season event Contenders Documentary. “No. ‘Are we inhibiting her from any medical attention that she could get?’ No. Was there anything that we could do to assist in aiding her in any way? No, we’re not trained medical professionals.”
Midwig added that the episode took 40 minutes in real life. It is edited down to a few minutes in the film but still conveys what has become a regular occurrence in Dion’s life.
“I can imagine that was probably vindicating in some way for her of like, ‘This is a really serious disease. This is really inhibiting. This turned my life upside down.’” Midwig said. “So in some way I could see that feeling validating for her of the level of seriousness that it shows in that film.”
Taylor said she expected Dion to request to see the footage once she recovered. The five-time Grammy winner never did.
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“We did not speak of it, in fact,” Taylor said. “All she said when the night was over was she put her hand on my arm and she said, ‘Are you OK?’ And I said, ‘I think so. Are you OK?’ That’s how she is.”
Dion ultimately saw the scene in the finished film and confirmed Midwig’s suspicion that documenting her SPS attack was validating.
“She was crying when the film ended and she said, ‘Irene, I think this film could help me,’” Taylor said. “I think that she was worried all along for the many years she held the secret of her illness. She was worried people wouldn’t believe her. She was worried that maybe these cancellations of shows, people would just think she was not that committed to her fans.”
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Producer Leisl Copland made the connection between Taylor and Dion. Their conversations began via Zoom during the pandemic. Midwig used an ARRI Mini LF camera often used in Hollywood productions to bring a cinematic quality to Dion’s life. Yet Taylor admired how Dion presented herself with minimal glamour.
“Celine presented herself [with] no makeup, very simple with her hair back in a bun generally every day,” she said. “It really integrated well with the camera quality, the lens quality, because we didn’t need lights. So you really just see her in a very natural setting. You feel like you’re sitting in front of her.“
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I Am: Celine Dion is streaming on Prime Video, where it has become the platform’s most popular documentary ever.
Check back Monday for the panel video.
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