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Documentary 'Avicii: True Stories' Filmed Before Avicii's Death Is Coming to Netflix

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Editor's Note

If you experience suicidal thoughts, the following post could be potentially triggering. You can contact the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741741.

A documentary centered around the late DJ Avicii is coming to Netflix. Avicii, also known as Tim Bergling, died by an apparent suicide in April 2018. “Avicii: True Stories” gives an inside look at the star’s life while touring and after he retired in 2016.

The documentary originally premiered before Avicii’s death in October 2017 in Scandinavia and western Europe. In the film, the Swedish DJ struggles with his physical and mental health. He talks about how draining touring and his growing fame is. According to The Guardian, Avicii is seen in the film telling people around him how anxious, sick and exhausted he was. Avicii even says that touring is going to kill him.

Avicii retired from the road at the end of 2016, two years after having his gallbladder and appendix removed because of complications from pancreatitis. Avicii was diagnosed with pancreatitis in 2012, which was due in part to excessive drinking.

“The scene was not for me,” Avicii told The Hollywood Reporter when he announced his retirement. “It was not the shows and not the music. It was always the other stuff surrounding it that never came naturally to me. All the other parts of being an artist. I’m more of an introverted person in general. It was always very hard for me. I took on board too much negative energy.”

After his death in April, Avicii’s family released a statement that revealed he continued to struggle with his mental health after retiring from touring. They said he was a “sensitive guy” who “shunned the spotlight.”

“When he stopped touring, he wanted to find a balance in life to be happy and be able to do what he loved most – music,” Avicii’s family said in the joint statement. “He really struggled with thoughts about Meaning, Life, Happiness.”

The director of the documentary, Levan Tsikurishvili, told The Guardian the ending of the film seems “chillingly false” because at the time, Avicii’s life seemed calmer after planning on only producing music in the studio. Avicii died six months after the film’s initial limited release.

The documentary will available on Netflix Dec. 28 in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. You can watch the trailer here. 

Image via Wikimedia Commons

Originally published: December 27, 2018
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