Amazon Studios has picked up the rights to “The Boy From Medellín,” a documentary about Colombian musician J Balvin that’s directed by Matthew Heineman and will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
The film is a deep-dive into the life of Balvin and how he rose to stardom in his home of Colombia, all leading up to a massive concert he would perform in Medellín, Colombia. No release date has been set.
“Representing my country, my city and Latin culture globally is a lifelong pursuit and I’m so proud to be a son of Medellín. I’m honored to be able to tell my story in this beautiful way and working with Matthew on this project was an incredible experience. Thank you to Amazon for making sure this story can be seen around the world,” Balvin said in a statement.
“The Boy From Medellín” was backed by Endeavor Content and is produced by Our Time Projects and SB Projects. Endeavor Content fully financed the documentary and handled worldwide sales on the picture.
“‘The Boy from Medellin’ is a poignant and transparent snapshot of Latin superstar J Balvin’s journey at such a crucial time in Colombia’s history,” Javiera Balmaceda, head of International Originals in Argentina, Chile and Colombia at Amazon Studios said in a statement. “Filmmaker Matthew Heineman is a master of his craft, and beautifully depicts the perspective of an international music icon. We are thrilled to welcome Matthew back to the Amazon family and to share J Balvin’s story with our global customers.”
“I am excited to partner with Amazon in bringing Jose’s powerful personal story to a global audience,” Heineman said. “While J Balvin is the undeniably talented musical icon behind some of the world’s most popular songs, Jose’s strength and openness in talking about his struggles with mental health drew me to make the film. I was honored that Jose gave us extremely intimate access to this important moment in his life, and the result is a universal story about a man trying to reckon with his place in this world that I hope will resonate with fans and new audiences alike.”
The producers are Heineman, Juan Camilo Cruz, Myles Estey and Joedan Okun of Our Time Projects. The executive producers are Scooter Braun, Allison Kaye, Scott Manson and Jennifer McDaniels on behalf of SB Projects, Fabio Acosta, José Álvaro Osorio Balvín, Jenna Millman and Juan Diego Villegas.
J Balvin is a four-time Latin Grammy winner and has been dubbed “Reggaeton’s Global Ambassador.” His songs “Blanco,” “Morado” and “Rojo” have all gone #1 and has the most #1 hits on the Latin Airplay charts in history, with 24 songs of his in all over the course of his career.
Heineman is known for his documentary “City of Ghosts,” which was also released by Amazon Studios, and for his feature “A Private War.” Heineman is currently in production on a documentary about COVID-19 and he is set to write and direct “Paradise,” an adaptation of the true events of the 2018 Paradise Fire that Focus Features will distribute.