Key Takeaways
- In Whose Name? follows Kanye West over six years, capturing pivotal personal and professional moments.
- The teaser includes scenes of Ye pushing back on medication and navigating conflict with Kim Kardashian.
- Director Nico Ballesteros presents the footage without commentary, allowing viewers to draw their own conclusions.
The first teaser for In Whose Name?, a forthcoming documentary on Kanye West, was released on Wednesday (Aug. 13) and offers an early look at footage captured over a six-year period. According to Deadline, the film is set to open on approximately 1,000 screens on Sept. 19 via AMSI Entertainment.
In Whose Name? follows Ye during a time of apparent mental health struggles, the breakdown of his marriage to Kim Kardashian, the loss of high-profile brand deals, and controversial public remarks. “I’m off my meds for five months now,” the Chicago talent stated in the teaser; followed by Kardashian telling him, “Your personality was not like this a few years ago!” Additional footage shows Ye resisting psychiatric treatment, declaring, “I would rather be dead than be on medication,” while describing his creative process as unfiltered and unrestrained.
Teaser highlights Kanye West’s mental health and career fallout
Viewers can see the G.O.O.D. Music frontman in a range of circumstances, from private conversations to public appearances, all from a period when his behavior drew widespread media attention. In addition to personal moments, the teaser suggested that the documentary will examine West’s acknowledgment of living with bipolar disorder, as well as its impact on his relationships and career.
A synopsis further states that the project presents “brilliance and breakdowns, triumphs and turmoil,” showing how paranoia and intensity increasingly influenced Ye's life. The film reportedly does not offer commentary or conclusions, instead presenting events for audiences to interpret.
Production credits and meaning behind the documentary’s title
Director Nico Ballesteros compiled thousands of hours of footage shot since Ye granted the filmmaker access to his life in Ballesteros’s late teens. The production involved Jack M. Russell and Justin Staple as editors, Nick Jarjour as executive producer, and Shy Ranje and Russell as co-producers. Shay Walczak, Vaughn Robison, and David Bullock were also confirmed as associate producers.
Deadline added that the film’s title references the evolving nature of idolatry, reflecting both West’s cultivation of a public persona and his pursuit of personal ideals tied to faith, fame, and luxury. The documentary is positioned to provide a rare longitudinal view of one of music’s most prominent — and polarizing — figures during a turbulent chapter of his career.