Céline Dion is offering fans never-before-seen footage of the less glamorous aspects of her life, including a seizure that lasts nearly 10 minutes, in her documentary I Am: Céline Dion.
The documentary, which premiered Thursday June 20 on Prime Video, opens with a scene of the singer curled up into fetal position, crying and suffering from immense pain.
Later, footage in the video seen below shows Dion screaming as her body flails during a seizure episode during a consultation for her Stiff-Person Syndrome. The scene carries on for nearly 10 minutes.
Eventually, the episode ends, and Dion sits up wrapped in a blanket.
“Every time something like this happens, it makes you feel so embarrassed and so, like, I don’t know how to express it,” she says. “It’s just…you know, like to not have control of yourself.”
The documentary chronicles the singer’s diagnosis of SPS as well as her consequential Valium addiction, tour cancellation, and her journey to get back on stage.
In 2022, the singer publicly shared that she was diagnosed with SPS, a condition which consists of symptoms including debilitating pain and chronic anxiety. In the months following her diagnosis, Dion made the difficult decision to cancel her 2023 summer tour dates and reschedule her spring shows to 2024 to focus on her health. This marked a crucial turning point in the singer’s career as she had been touring consistently around the world since 1983.
“I decided I wanted to document this part of my life to help others who share this diagnosis,” shared Dion in a statement announcing the film. “This last couple of years has been such a challenge for me, the journey from discovering my condition to learning how to live with and manage it, but not to let it define me.”
I Am: Céline Dion was directed by Irene Taylor. Sony Music Vision produced the doc with Sony Music Entertainment Canada and Vermilion Films. Taylor also produced with Stacy Lorts as well as Julie Begey Seureau for Vermilion Films and Tom Mackay for Sony Music Vision
