Kanye West snaps at Kim Kardashian and declares “I’m off my meds for five months now” in the new trailer for In Whose Name?, an upcoming documentary that provides a very private look at the rapper’s very public meltdown.
Director Nicolas Ballesteros and his camera tailed West for six years, accumulating over 3,000 hours of footage at a tumultuous time where the critically acclaimed Kanye transformed into the ever-controversial Ye.
“Then eighteen-year-old Nicolas Ballesteros is thrust into the eye of the storm that is Ye, a man building empires in music, fashion, and faith. Coming to terms with Bipolar, his collapsing marriage, vanishing sponsorships, and growing public backlash, Ye’s life unfolds alongside a billion-dollar brand and a persona as polarizing as it is powerful,” the film’s synopsis states.
“For six transformative years of 15-hour shoot days, Ballesteros did more than document a cultural icon. What began as a silent observation evolved into a profound journey of artistic and personal growth. Immersed in Ye’s world of extremes, he bore witness to brilliance and breakdowns, triumphs and turmoil, but also observed the paranoia and intensity that increasingly shaped Ye’s world.”
The trailer for In Whose Name?, which opens in theaters on Sept. 19, sees West fully embracing his bipolar disorder, bragging that he has stopped taking his medication — “”I’d rather be dead than on medication,” West says — which comes at the price of his domestic live. The preview also shows West concocting his Sunday Service before delving even down his own rabbit hole.
“For a shy kid, the camera became both a shield and a window, a way to channel my introspection while still engaging with the world,” Ballesteros said in a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter). “Ye has always had someone filming him too, a lens between him and the noise. Maybe that’s why we understood each other without saying much. I was able to fade into the background, stay present, the camera always rolling, catching moments outside the public performance.”
Trending Stories
Producer Simran A. Singh added, “This film presents a raw and often unsettling portrait, without commentary or conclusion, leaving viewers to interpret the events for themselves. Nico was living alongside Ye, camera in hand, not fully knowing what he was capturing or where it would lead and that’s exactly what makes the footage so powerful.”
While it’s clear West provided unfettered access to the documentarian, it’s unclear whether the film itself has the rapper’s approval.
