Celine Dion chronicles her battle back to the stage after stiff person syndrome diagnosis in documentary trailer

By CNN Newsource

Published May 23, 2024 2:05 PM

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — Celine Dion knows how powerful love can be.

This is especially apparent in the new trailer for her upcoming documentary “I Am: Celine Dion,” in which she showcases how much her love of singing and performing live keeps her going while living with stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder.

In one of the most powerful moments of the preview released on Thursday, the “My Heart Will Go On” singer discusses how important performing is for her, saying, “I am working hard every day but I have to admit, it’s been a struggle. I miss it so much. The people. I miss them.”

“If I can’t run, I’ll walk. If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl,” she adds, with tears in her eyes. “And I won’t stop. I won’t stop.”

In the preview, Dion’s sprawling career is shown through archival clips of the Grammy-winner performing in front of tens of thousands of people on stage, juxtaposed with a presumably present-day Dion being consoled by loved ones as she grapples with pausing her career to focus on her health.

Dion announced in December 2022 that she was taking time off from professional commitments to focus on her health after revealing her stiff person syndrome diagnosis. At the time, she said the condition did not allow her “to sing the way I’m used to.”

Stiff person syndrome is “a rare, progressive syndrome that affects the nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, causing spasms and muscle rigidity.

It is a disorder that Dion hopes to highlight through the “I Am” doc, writing in a January statement announcing the project that she wanted to “document” this part of her life “to raise awareness of this little-known condition, to help others who share this diagnosis.”

According to an official synopsis, the film will give viewers an intimate look inside Dion’s life “as she reveals her battle” with her condition “and the lengths she has gone to continue performing for her beloved and loyal fans.”

“My voice is the conductor of my life,” Dion says in the trailer. “I need my instrument.”

“I Am: Celine Dion” will be available to stream on Prime Video on June 25.