During an interview with “Parisien” on June 24, Celine Dion’s documentary filmmaker, Irene Taylor, described in detail one of the attacks of the singer suffering from stiff person syndrome. The scene took place before her eyes, while she was filming “I am: Céline Dion”, available from tomorrow on Prime Video.
This sequence took place when the artist returned home after a grueling studio session. At this precise moment, the diva had been in silence for two months due to her illness, and she was now trying to sing again. She had a fit of spasms in front of Irene Taylor’s camera.
The director then witnessed for many minutes the disturbing spectacle of Céline Dion’s body stiffening. The star was having trouble breathing, while her eyes were dimming. She moaned and cried in pain as her lips trembled. “It’s the worst thing I’ve ever filmed. I was so uncomfortable, panicked. I was all alone with the cameraman in the room. I had headphones on and I could barely hear his breathing. This lasted for forty minutes before she regained consciousness. I wondered if I would continue filming, but I had worked with her enough before to know that I had to do it, even if I didn’t keep the scene,” explained Irene Taylor.
Finally, this sequence, which was filmed towards the end of 2022, will be present in the documentary. “I have total respect for her, I am able to sing three or four of her songs in English by heart, but I did not know her French repertoire well. Not being a fan, I knew very little about its history. Sony Music asked me to work on this project a year earlier, and I was flattered that she thought I was the right person to talk with and about her. By meeting her, I could see how sincere she was, and I wanted to know more,” she concluded.
