More than 30 years ago, Alek Keshishian showed the biggest pop star of the time, Madonna, in a new light with his groundbreaking documentary Truth or Dare. Now the director is turning his eye toward this generation’s biggest pop star for his first music documentary since 1991. That’s right — we’re talking about Selena Marie Gomez, and we won’t entertain any arguments that she’s not one of the most evocative, important performers of her time. Apple TV+ is set to release the documentary, Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, on November 4 — two days after the film opens AFI Fest.
The doc’s new trailer shows Selena struggling with fame, lupus, mental illness, and a persistent feeling she’s not good enough. The main throughline being: never truly having a choice about being in the spotlight, Gomez wants to use it to help others. An Apple press release said the film focuses on Gomez’s “six-year journey into a new light” after “an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness.” Based on that, it sounds like Keshishian began working on the doc shortly after he directed Gomez’s music video for “Hands to Myself” in 2015. (As for how he got that much access, Keshishian’s sister, Aleen Keshishian, is Gomez’s manager and a producer on Apple TV+’s Billie Eilish doc, The World’s a Little Blurry.) Gomez has previously discussed her mental health — she opened up about spending time in a mental-health facility in 2016 — but never in so much detail. Gomez checked into a clinic again in 2018 and, in 2020, revealed her bipolar diagnosis. “Wanna hear a part to my story,” Gomez wrote on Instagram, teasing the documentary. Oh yes, we do.
This post has been updated throughout.
