Originally from Quebec, Céline Dion revealed herself as a singer from a very young age. Over the years, the musician has become an international star by performing cult songs, both in French and in English. Unfortunately, for several years now, Celine Dion has been unable to perform on stage. In fact, the singer suffers from an illness which simply prevents her from singing. Suffering from stiff man syndrome, she was forced to postpone her major international tour several times. For the record, it is a disease affecting the central nervous system, which causes terrible spasms in the artist. Director Irene Taylor notably witnessed the suffering to which Céline Dion suffered due to her illness. In an interview given to Parisian Monday June 24, 2024, the documentary maker described in detail one of the crises that took place before her eyes, while she was filming Céline Dion.
This sequence took place when the artist returned home after a grueling studio session. At this precise moment, Celine Dion had been in silence for two months due to her illness, and she was now trying to sing again. The musician was seized by 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 singer struggled to breathe as her eyes began to glaze over. 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. It lasted 40 minutes before she regained consciousness. I wondered if I would continue filming, but I had worked with her enough before to know I had to, even if I didn’t keep the scene“, explained Irene Taylor.
Celine Dion’s crisis will be visible in Irene Taylor’s documentary
Finally, this sequence, which was filmed towards the end of 2022, will be present at the end of the documentary entitled “I am: Celine Dion“, available from Tuesday June 25, 2024 on the Prime Video platform. “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. When I met her, I could see how sincere she was, and I wanted to know more. Like a painter, I wanted to make a portrait of her, but I didn’t know what color, what style it would have.“, also added Irene Taylor.
