Selena Gomez Be candid about her struggles with mental health issues, including her 2018 bipolar diagnosis. selena gomez: my heart and meshe and the director Alec Kesisian I wanted to create an official account of her long battle to restore her mental health.
speak on deadline Contenders Documentary panel of apple original film pic, Keshishian, revealed why Gomez trusted him to tell such a personal story.
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“I met Selena in 2015 because I told my manager, who happened to be my sister, that she was crazy about me. [Keshishian’s 1991 Madonna docu] truth or dare,” he said. That was the first connection.”
Together they created a very personal and revealing film in which Gomez talks candidly about her stay in a mental health facility. Keshixiang canceled their first attempt to make a movie together because the singer’s health struggles were so great.
“She asked me if I would do her tour doc [Gomez’s 2015 album] Revivaland I said, ‘I don’t know if you’ll be happy with what true cinema verité filmmaking is like. And she said, ‘No, no, no, but you know, I really want to do this. I found it off the track I didn’t feel like I needed to constantly film this 24 year old young woman that I could see in a tight spot.It just felt exploitative As such, we have mutually agreed to pause.”
Related: ‘Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me’ Trailer: ‘Only Murders’ Star Talks Mental Health
Ultimately, of course, they successfully completed the film. For both Gomez and Keshishian it was a struggle to document something so personally painful, but the director said it was worth it because of the larger message the film is trying to convey. .
“I think our partnership was probably about doing something bigger than the two of us — helping other people,” he said. “And it’s been the hardest thing she’s ever done in her life. And I’m sure it’s been the hardest thing she’s ever released. But what’s kept us going is our The idea was that we might do something together that might help someone else who didn’t have the privilege.”
Check back Wednesday for a video of the panel.
