Available on Netflix from today (December 31), a new Avicii documentary lets the artist speak for himself. Titled I’m Tim, the documentary follows the producer, composer and superstar DJ born Tim Bergling from his childhood and adolescence in Stockholm to the global fame he achieved as Avicii, with the film narrated by Bergling himself.
The film’s director Henrik Burman said “When I determined that he’d be the one who’d narrate this story, I thought that maybe it was how I could be close to him. Maybe that’s how I can meet him.”
Burman began work on the project in 2019 — shortly after the pioneering artist’s death at age 28 earlier that year — where he initially planned to make an hour-long program for Swedish National Television about the final, posthumous Avicii album, 2019’s Tim. A musician and music journalist in Sweden, Burman had completed the 2020 Yung Lean documentary Yung Lean: In My Head and was ready to take on another music-related project.
Working with the blessing of Bergling’s parents, Burman had full access to the sprawling Avicii archives. He found hours of interviews with the producer conducted during different periods of his career, including some in the later part of his life, when he was able to reflect on quitting touring in 2016, his problems with alcohol abuse, his approach to making music and more.
The Avicii documentary also presents loads of studio footage, highlighting Bergling’s approach to making music and his special gift with melody. You can watch the official trailer below.
“There were moments in these interviews where he’d say, ‘This really describes me as a person, so if there’s ever a documentary made about me, you should use this to tell the story,” Burman says of the moments he discovered amid the archival footage. “He’d say things like, ‘If there’s a documentary, we need to talk about alcohol; we need to talk about the bad things in my life.’ I’ve been looking for clues like this — I’ve listened to Tim for hours and hours trying to understand him and put together the puzzle of who he was as a person and who Avicii was as this amazing artist.”
Burman and his small team from Stockholm travelled between the U.S. and Europe to interview many of the key figures in Bergling’s life and career. I’m Tim features Neil Jacobson, who was the A&R for Avicii while president at Geffen Records; Aloe Blacc and Dan Tyminski, who worked on Avicii’s 2013 country crossover album True; Per Sundin, who signed Avicii’s breakout tracks “Seek Bromance” and “Levels” to Universal Music Sweden; Ash Pournouri, the manager who architected Avicii’s rise; fellow EDM pillar David Guetta; Nile Rodgers; Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who worked with Avicii on music including the 2014 hit “Sky Full of Stars”; longtime friend and early collaborator Filip “Philgood” Åkesson; close friend Jesse Waits; and Bergling’s parents, Anki Lidén and Klas Bergling.
The final 90-minute Avicii documentary debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and is nominated for Guldbagge Award, the biggest Swedish film award, for editing.
I’m Tim is absolutely stacked with Avicii music, with the documentary being released alongside “My Last Show,” a 30-minute performance film from Avicii’s final live show at Ushuaïa Ibiza on August 28, 2016 that’s meant to function as a companion piece. “When you’ve seen this film, you want to also feel who Avicii was on stage,” Burman says. “It’s his last show, but it’s such a happy feel around it.”
Listen to the best of Avicii on Apple Music and Spotify.