'The Boy From Medellín' Trailer: Doc Filmmaker Matthew Heineman Tracks The Life Of Reggaeton Star J Balvin

If you don’t know the work of Academy Award®-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman (“Cartel Land,” “City Of Ghosts“), you really outta change that. A cameraman and cinematographer on top of being a documentarian, Heineman’s work is always super cinematic, super intimate, and seems even to blur the lines of fact and fiction; he gets into such personal spaces, it seems impossible that moments aren’t staged, but they aren’t. His latest, “The Boy From Medellín,” is an intimate portrait of one of the biggest international music superstars of our time. The doc follows Reggaeton superstar J Balvin as he prepares for the most important concert of his career–a sold-out stadium show in his hometown of Medellín, Colombia.

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“The Boy From Medellín” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year to much acclaim. Here’s the official synopsis:

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From Academy Award®-nominee and Emmy-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, City of Ghosts, A Private War) comes an astonishingly intimate portrait of one of the biggest international music superstars of our time. THE BOY FROM MEDELLÍN follows J Balvin as he prepares for the most important concert of his career–a sold-out stadium show in his hometown of Medellín, Colombia. But as the performance draws ever closer, the streets explode with growing political unrest, forcing the Latin Grammy-winning musician to wrestle with his responsibility as an artist to his country and his legions of fans around the globe. As the public pressure of the approaching concert heightens, behind the scenes, Balvin also continues to deal with the anxiety and depression that has plagued him for years. Shot entirely in the dramatic week leading up to the concert, THE BOY FROM MEDELLÍN gives us unprecedented access to “Reggaeton’s Global Ambassador” and provides an immersive look into one of the most pivotal and emotionally charged moments of his life.

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The doc is executive produced by Fabio Acosta, Scooter Braun, Allison Kaye, Scott Manson, Jennifer McDaniels, Jenna Millman, Jose Alvaro Osorio Balvin, Juan Diego Villegas and produced by Juan Camilo Cruz, Myles Estey, and Joedan Okun. Amazon Studios will release “The Boy From Medellín” globally on Prime Video May 7, 2021. Watch the new trailer below.