the essential
Celine Dion reveals herself in a new documentary available this June 25 on the Prime Video platform. A story that is both poignant and joyful which retraces her career and does not avoid the health problems she has been facing for years.
“I’m not dead,” Celine Dion told AFP on Monday evening in New York, during the premiere of “I Am: Celine Dion.” In a documentary that is both poignant and joyful, the Quebec singer retraces her career and does not avoid the health problems she has been facing for years: “My passion for the stage will never die”
Read also :
“Quite quickly, I had difficulty controlling my voice”… Céline Dion opens up about her stiff person syndrome
His fight against a paralyzing illness
The 56-year-old Canadian woman has stiff person syndrome (PRS), an autoimmune disease with no known cure that causes severe pain, difficulty moving and spasms. “When life imposes a challenge on you, you have two choices: take it head on, or not,” explains Céline Dion, who assures that her decision to discuss her situation in the documentary is both “a great gift and a great responsibility.”
Read also :
Paris 2024 Olympic Games: “My goal is to see the Eiffel Tower again!” Will Celine Dion sing at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games?
She, who has been rare in public since the announcement of her illness, also hopes that the film will encourage people suffering from the same syndrome. “It’s difficult to be here but at the same time I’m very moved,” the star also declared on the red carpet, this time in French. “I feel like I still have a lot of support and a lot of love and I hope that this documentary will help, because it helped me a lot, even if it’s a fight forever, one day at home. times.”
In December 2022, the singer with more than 250 million albums sold announced for the first time the illness which forced her to put her career on hold.
A terrifying crisis
The documentary also chronicles his illness, with a long passage showing the star in full crisis, completely immobile and unable to speak. Towards the end of the documentary, the star goes to her physiotherapist for a muscle relaxation session, details Point. She then goes into spasms: “It’s strange, it shouldn’t do that,” says the health professional. Quickly, the tremors intensified, and his body stiffened. His hands twist, his legs tense excessively.
Impossible for her to control the slightest movement. The Quebec star is paralyzed and lets out tears of pain. The healthcare team then takes stock of the situation and administers treatment, which ultimately alleviates the effects of the crisis. The singer then realizes that the moment of joy she experienced before her medical appointment could have been the trigger for this new crisis. But she wants to continue fighting.
Do everything to get back on stage
The film certainly presents her marked by the loss of this voice which made her reputation, but it is rather her joy of life and her unfailing sense of humor which shine through on the screen, like her love for her family, her friends and music. “If I don’t run, I’ll walk. If I don’t walk, I’ll crawl,” says the Canadian, determined to do everything to get back on stage and reunite with her fans. Celine Dion has always thought – as she says in the film – that she had to produce beautiful, shiny apples for her fans, who pay considerable sums and queue for hours to hear her sing.
Monday evening in New York, she explained that she was moved to tears by a fan’s recent message: ‘We are not here for the apples, but for the apple tree.’
Parts of intimate life revealed
The film offers archive images of this world-famous stage beast but also offers a window into his domestic life, with his children and his dogs. He also traces his doubts, the beginnings of his illness in 2008 which led to the change in his voice, his struggle to finally receive the right diagnosis. But also his drug addiction.
Read also :
“I’m going to come back on stage”… Celine Dion discusses her excessive medication use and promises to be back in concert
Irene Taylor, the director of this documentary, explained to AFP that Celine Dion had set one condition for making this film: to be able to tell her own story, in her own words, rather than having people talk about She. “For someone like me whose job is to tell stories, it was holy bread,” she confided. “She showed herself unvarnished, in a very authentic way. In her joys, as in her sorrows,” added the director.
The documentary “Je suis: Céline Dion” is broadcast from June 25 on the Amazon Prime Video platform.
