I'm going to be, hello, thank you for joining us over there.

I'm going to be very quick because I know you really want to get to this show and it is, you guys are in for something really magical.

We were so fortunate to be the recipients, you know, from our great partners at Sony to have, you know, the story, this, have Celine open her doors and her heart to audiences all over the world and it's pretty incredible.

So thank you for being here tonight.

I have the pleasure of introducing our amazing director who got in there and created this relationship with Celine and was able to come into the world of an iconic megastar of her magnitude and tell the very personal story that you're going to see unfold tonight.

So without further ado, I'd like to welcome Irene Taylor to the stage.

Thank you, thank you.

Amazon MGM Studios, what an event, what an event.

We are talking to folks right now in San Francisco, in Montreal, Phoenix, Boston, we'll be in

Paris tomorrow.

It's really, this is a very special room tonight.

Each of you here is here for a reason.

You have been chosen to be here because we have kept this film very private and I really want to thank my partners at Sony and on Celine's management team, Feeling Productions.

They really have been the best collaborators a filmmaker could ask for.

They gave me complete freedom to develop a relationship with Celine on my own terms and

I hope you see in this film how much Celine really wanted to tell her story in her own words in a very difficult time and I would also like to point out that in the audience tonight is our core creative team for this film.

My director of photography, Nick Midwig, was with me all the time when we made this film as we were shooting Celine and my producing partners, Tom McKay, Stacey Lortz, Julie Sarreau and Krista Wegner.

Shane Carter, I worked with you from far away but we didn't get to be together in the edit room but also I have a very special guest from Italy here tonight, Alberto Fabri.

He composed with Reddy Haase, our cellist, this score for the film which is, I can officially say that I think the cello is Celine's spirit instrument because it really carries her story.

I do want to ask if you could stay through the credits.

Speaking of my wonderful team, my editor, also Christian Jensen is here and in Montreal our other editor, Richard Comeau, who could not be here tonight but it would really be wonderful if everyone could just stay through the credits.

You will also let the score fully wash over you.

We would really appreciate that.

So my first memory that I have is of my mother singing to me and my mother is deaf and she didn't hit the notes but she had a cadence and she had a rhythm that told me at a very early age that music is love.

I would like to thank our sign language interpreter tonight, who is an old friend, Brandon, and

I would like to tell you that we have deaf and deafblind people here with us tonight and we have them all over the country enjoying this film.

It's fully accessible and I truly believe no film more than a music film should be going out to people of all abilities.

So I want to thank Amazon and Sony and Lincoln Center for their support with that.

You know, early on, Celine did ask one thing of me and it was genuinely the only thing she asked.

She said, is it possible that you could make a film where it's not everyone else talking about me but it's just me talking about me?

Now if any of you are filmmakers or storytellers here in the audience, now that is some music to your ears, right?

And Celine did give me her all.

I said, that's a lot of weight to carry in a film, but I'm ready for it if you are.

And that is the film we have tonight.

And what we also have tonight is just a true collaborative effort.

And I want to tell you, lastly, before I bring Celine out, you know, the one, she, you know,

I noticed in the first few times that we spent together in person, you know, she just had this amazing team of people, her professional team in her home and around her.

And they really are her family.

But here was the catch.

They had all worked with her for 30 years, 35 years.

I mean, that is a family in addition to the family you will meet in the film tonight, her own family.

And she said to me, I remarked to her, I said, these people have been with you for so long.

And she said, you know, Irene, and maybe this applies to your lives and your vocation or your profession, certainly with your relationships.

She said, if you want to go fast, go alone.

But if you want to go far, go together.

So please join me in welcoming the woman we are all here to be together for tonight, Celine

Dion.

Hi.

Moi aussi.

I love you too.

Please have a seat.

First of all, thank you Irene.

Good evening, New York.

And hello to all the fans joining us around the world tonight.

I have so much gratitude to welcome all of you this evening.

This is by far the biggest crowd I've had in a few years.

Missed that.

I'm so proud to be here tonight to share this film with you.

It's possible because of the incredible talent of the woman standing, she was at one point.

The woman who were standing next to me.

Irene Taylor, please, once again.

Irene, you've not only made this film with such feeling and tenderness, but also because you became, if I may say, a dear friend in this whole crazy process.

I'm so thankful for your dedication, your passion, and your vision in telling my story.

As hard as it may have been at times.

I must thank the wonderful partners at Amazon MGM Studios and Rob Stringer at Sony Music for believing in the power of this movie, for making this opportunity possible.

There is another person here tonight who helped me tremendously, solved this mystery about my health.

It is my neurologist, the brilliant Dr. Amanda Piquet.

Where are you, doctor?

Dr. Piquet, may we see you?

In finding ways, Dr. Piquet, in finding ways to manage and treat my condition, Dr. Piquet has delivered a very, very important result for me.

She has replaced my fear with hope.

I'm so happy to share this with you tonight.

I'm privileged to announce our support of Dr. Piquet's work and research through the creation of the Céline Dion Foundation Endowed Chair in Autoimmune Neurology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

Dr. Piquet will be the inaugural chair holder.

Thank you again, doctor.

Yes, please.

Of course, I wouldn't be here without the daily love and support from my wonderful children.

Thank you, Renee Charles.

Thank you, Nelson.

Thank you, Eddie.

I love you very much, and thanks to you, my fans.

Your presence in my journey has been a gift beyond measure.

Your never-ending love and support over all these years have delivered me to this moment tonight.

One of the stories you will hear from me in this movie, as I was reading, learning about my condition, I compared myself, and I'm not saying this because we're in New York, but

I compared myself to an apple.

I mean, literally.

Sounds like we made it up, but I did, and I was in Las Vegas, so.

I don't want you to, when I said to myself that I compared myself to an apple from a tree,

I don't want you to wait in line anymore if I don't have any shiny apples for you.

So, a couple of days ago, I saw a message from a fan, and it said,

We're not here for the apples.

We're here for the tree.

I cannot, I cannot believe how fortunate I am to have my fans in my life.

Thank you.

Thank you, love.

That's from New York.

Thank you to all of you from the bottom of my heart for being part of my journey.

This movie is my love letter to each of you.

I hope to see you all again very, very soon.

Thank you.

Thank you.