AFI announced last week that the World Premiere of the Selena Gomez documentary, Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me, which Apple picked up distribution rights to on September 8th, will open the 36th AFI Fest on Wednesday, November 2nd.

Alek Keshishian, who previously worked with Gomez on the music video for her 2015 song "Hands to Myself" from her album Revival, released the following year, directs the documentary chronicling 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.”

Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me is releasing soon on Apple TV+.

“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.”

My Take

This is an interesting opening night film. A documentary opening AFI Fest 2022 after the AFI Docs was folded into AFI's main festival signals that AFI Fest 2022's premieres will be a smattering of documentaries and feature films.

The mix of documentaries and feature films makes me confident that the feature films won't overshadow what would usually be programmed as part of AFI Docs.

Regarding the documentary, it doesn't quite register for me as a must-see or something to travel to California to see. However, it'll be on Apple TV+, so I'll likely catch it there.

AFI Fest 2022 will take place in Los Angeles exclusively from November 2nd to November 6th.

Tickets and passes to AFI FEST 2022 will be available in October on FEST.AFI.com.

AFI Members receive exclusive early access to purchase passes, tickets, and other benefits. To become an AFI member, visit AFI.com/join/.

Does this move the needle for you? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time!

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