The American Film Institute (AFI) announced that the world premiere of Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me will open the 36th edition of AFI Fest on Wednesday, November 2.
Helmed by Alek Keshishian–who made his groundbreaking directorial debut with the seminal documentary Madonna: Truth or Dare—Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me, an Apple Original film, chronicles Emmy and Grammy nominee Selena Gomez’s journey from the heights of unimaginable superstardom through the lows of a very personal crisis and back again.
“I had no interest in making a traditional pop doc,” says Keshishian. “I wanted to show something more authentic and Selena did, too. She has a raw vulnerability that captured me… I had no idea then that it would become a six-year labor of love.”
“AFI is proud to launch AFI Fest 2022 with Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me, a film as profoundly powerful as it is personal,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “Selena is a global force in art and entertainment, and we are honored to partner with her, Alek and Apple to shine a light upon her journey in this beautifully crafted celebration of optimism, vulnerability and hopefulness.”
The documentary is produced by Interscope Films and Lighthouse Management & Media.
AFI Fest 2022 will take place exclusively in person in Los Angeles from November 2-6.
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
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