"In 2016, Kanye West gave an aspiring young filmmaker a chance, which is how Nico Ballesteros, a teenager from Orange County, was given unlimited access to West's life for the span of time in which the rapper's reputation would irrevocably, fundamentally shift. Ballesteros shadowed West, who goes by Ye, for six years, collecting over 3,000 hours of footage depicting unbelievable highs and lows for one of entertainment's most controversial figures."
"Ballesteros aimed for something closer to cinéma vérité than conventional documentary-making about a public figure: There are no talking-head interviews or commentary, and the vast majority of the movie was shot on iPhones, allowing the young filmmaker to become a fly on the wall during West's more destructive private moments. The result is a documentary that perfectly encapsulates the difficulty of meaningfully evaluating a complex cultural figure like Kanye West."
In 2016 Kanye West granted unprecedented access to teenager Nico Ballesteros, who shadowed West for six years and amassed over 3,000 hours of footage. The material was condensed into a documentary titled In Whose Name?, which premiered in September and is now available to stream on demand. The film adopts a cinéma vérité approach with no talking-heads or commentary and was largely shot on iPhones, producing a fly-on-the-wall view of private moments. The footage records creative highs and serious lows, including bipolar-related behavior, medication lapses, threats toward Kim Kardashian, and antisemitic statements, complicating efforts to evaluate a complex cultural figure.
Read at Slate Magazine
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