In Whose Name? is a 2025 documentary directed by Nico Ballesteros, built from years of footage recorded around Kanye West. It offers unusually close access to West’s work and private life, but that access is not the same as a complete or neutral account—and Us Weekly reported that West had not seen or approved the finished film.
What is In Whose Name? about?
In Whose Name? is a 102-minute documentary directed by Nico Ballesteros. Xenon Pictures, the distributor, frames it around conversations, creative work, and personal instability inside West’s orbit. Its promotional description says the film captures “the tension between creative brilliance and personal instability — between public persona and private struggle.” Xenon Pictures’ film page
The title spans West’s creative activity and public controversies as well as personal upheaval. The Guardian’s interview with Ballesteros describes the filming period as six years, while the Los Angeles Times reports that recording began in 2016 and ended in late 2022. Los Angeles Times The Guardian interview
How did Nico Ballesteros get so much footage?
The Los Angeles Times reports that Ballesteros began filming West in 2016 and stopped in late 2022, accumulating more than 3,000 hours of footage. That material became Ballesteros’s debut film. The reported figure describes the footage gathered, not the documentary’s runtime or a published independent audit of the archive. Los Angeles Times
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Apple TV’s Norwegian storefront also repeats the 3,000-hour figure in its listing, but that is platform promotional copy, not a separate verification of the total. Apple TV Norway listing
What kind of documentary is it?
The Guardian review describes the film as cinéma vérité and notes that it uses no talking-head commentary. That describes the film’s approach; it does not establish that the footage provides full context for every event or a comprehensive account of West’s life. Viewers should distinguish what the camera captures from the conclusions a viewer may draw from it. The Guardian review
The review also reports a scene in which Michael Che tells West, “You’re a hero to us, but what you did was fucked up,” followed by Lindsay Shookus shutting Ballesteros down. This is dialogue as reported by the reviewer, not a separately verified transcript. The Guardian review
Did Kanye West approve the documentary?
Us Weekly reported that West had not seen or approved the documentary, attributing that information to a representative for Ballesteros. The same report says Ballesteros had access to West while making the film. The approval claim is therefore a report about the representative’s account—not a statement attributed to West or Xenon Pictures. Us Weekly
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When did it open, and where can you watch it?
The Guardian reported that the film opened theatrically in the United States on September 19, 2025. That historical release date does not establish where it can be streamed, rented, or bought now. The Guardian review
Apple TV has a listing in its Norwegian storefront, but that alone does not establish availability in other countries or whether access there is by subscription, rental, or purchase. Check the storefront for your country for current options; Xenon Pictures’ catalog identifies the film but does not specify territory-by-territory viewing availability. Apple TV Norway listing Xenon Pictures
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