Q&A: Avicii documentary director on celebrating the late, ‘timeless’ DJ’s death without exploiting it

NEW YORK – Pioneering Swedish DJ-producer Avicii died six years ago. He was 28 years old. It was a tragedy that resonated around the world – like his music, which inspired the “Wake Me Up!” Like brought unexpected styles and collaborators into his melodic EDM through visionary, chart-topping hits. And “Hey brother.”

On December 31, two new films, a short concert film based on his final performance, “Avicii – My Last Show” and a full-length documentary, “Avicii – I’m Tim”, will premiere on Netflix. They serve to celebrate the artist born Tim Bergling, reflecting on his early life, the songs that made him a distinctive talent, his insatiable curiosity and hunger for reinvention, and the people he left behind.

Miraculously, Bergling himself narrates much of the film – drawn from archival interviews and some never before published.

Director Henrik Berman told The Associated Press that capturing Avicii’s life and career was no easy feat. The project took half a decade, starting before the pandemic and ending just about a year and a half after Bergling’s death. Burman’s interviews were very long and numerous. “Knowing the people around Tim was the only way to know Tim,” he says.

Berman discussed Avicii’s life, career and legacy with The Associated Press. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. : How did you approach this project?

Berman: I will say from the beginning, the first thing I knew I wanted to do was find my story… the story I wanted to tell about Tim. But the most important thing was time. I wanted it to be a project with no deadlines… I wanted it to be a slow process. And I wanted a lot of time for research. And the people close to Tim, I didn’t want to pressure him into anything. I didn’t want to take it further. I wanted them to see and learn what I wanted to tell, you know, my story and my perspective. :The structure is compelling; It really focuses on Avicii’s life and his biggest songs that changed the genre – you avoid picking up his career because “it was the 2010s and EDM was huge.” There is a lot of research.

Berman: I had access to a lot of material… I was looking for clues all the time… I’ve watched hours and hours of interviews with Tim, you know, just to see, “Okay, he says Then this was the eighth time that year. …It was kind of a puzzle and yes, it was a huge amount of research.

Sometimes, with the material that I had… he’d be like, “If there’s ever a documentary made about me, this should be in it.” …There’s a story in the movie, in the beginning, he’s a kid. He tells a story to the interviewer. And he says, “When I was a kid, I wasn’t really a good person. For a few years, I was kind of bullying people. And I was about 6 or 7 years old. And after a while I realized that people didn’t like me, so after the summer, I was thinking about it, and I decided, ‘I need to change… and see what happens.’ ‘And then people liked me again. And when he told that story, he said, “This is a really important story. It’s a story that should be in a documentary, if there’s ever a documentary about me, because it says so much about me as a person.

I was trying to find and listen to clues and stories and… In the beginning, I was pretty sure I wanted to tell the story of Miami Ultra and what happened there. That was a big moment for me, and that was a huge big moment for Tim. But when I realized that it had to be… the center of my story, the midpoint of my story, I realized I had something to hold on to. : The childhood story also reflects his interest in creative change. How do you aim to capture his spirit and not center his death?

Berman: It’s tough. I tried to explain my vision for this film from the beginning… but I reached out to many friends and of course their family, and I got their blessings.

When I found a group of people like this who said “yes” to working on the film, I was able to start asking more questions and having deeper conversations. But again, we needed time… I wanted to work slowly, it was very important. :And you have footage of Tim in the womb! It’s a far cry from what could have easily been an exploitation version of the film.

Berman: I wanted to create an intimate and personal story and not be speculative… To find the right tone, you need time. And since we started work… a year and a half after Tim passed away, I just knew we needed time. And, of course, the people around Tim needed a lot of time. :What is Avicii’s legacy?

Berman: You can answer that question a number of ways. But if you’re talking about music, and the music that he composed and wrote, I would say that he was way ahead of his time. And you can hear Avicii’s legacy in music today. You can hear it in production on new music and hits from today. If you listen to music – go back and listen to music released 10 years ago, it sounds very fresh, modern, and I would say timeless. : What do you hope audiences take away from this film?

Berman: Someone told me that this movie is very much about Tim, but at the same time, it’s universal. And I thought it was beautiful because life is not simple. There are no easy answers. And everything is complex and multilayered. So, that’s my goal in contributing to Tim’s story. And I also really hope that even the most die-hard fans will get a new, refreshing perspective of Tim as a person and Avicii as an artist.

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