YouTube‘s newly-relaunched Music service has commissioned vlogger-filmmaker Casey Neistat, one of the platform’s most influential creators, to helm a documentary about pop star Shawn Mendes — who first rose to fame on Vine (though the doc appears to posit that Mendes was discovered on YouTube).
Neistat and Mendes have been working on the project since May, which is when Mendes released his third eponymous album. It is part of YouTube Music’s Artist Spotlight Series, which features short docs on buzzy artists upon the release of new albums. Past films have featured J Balvin, Camila Cabello, and G-Eazy— though Mendes’ marks the first time that YouTube has tapped a native creator to direct one of the films.
On Friday, Neistat shared a first look at the film’s trailer on his channel, which counts 10.4 million subscribers. The documentary appears to chronicle Mendes’ improbable rise after being discovered on social media, and also features appearances from Neistat behind the camera, asking probing questions like “When do you get nervous?” On Thursday, YouTube is hosting a screening of the film in New York with Neistat and Mendes, and fans can enter for a chance to win tickets as outlined right here.
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“I hope you liked it. It’s good, right? It’s great,” Neistat says in his vlog after the trailer premieres. “I haven’t worked this hard on something — I haven’t done a movie like this — since I started focusing on YouTube for or five years ago.”
Check it out below:
