The Colombian reggaeton artist, J Balvin, is set to release his new documentary called The Boy From Medellin as soon as tomorrow, May 7. The film will be available at Amazon Prime.
The production was entirely filmed throughout a week leading up to a massive show he had back in December 2019 at his hometown, Medellin, at the Estadio Anastasio Girardot.
The show coincided with a series of nationwide protests nationwide against corruption, police brutality, and austerity measures imposed by the Colombian government. The trailer released last month portrays his anxiety and hesitation to get involved in politics.
Also, the film shows Balvin contending with anxiety and depression, two conditions that have haunted him for years. The context in which he performs at Medellin made him even more nervous as he felt the responsibility to speak on the unrest happening at the time in Colombia.
Ironically, the documentary is being released at the same time protests surged again in Colombia due to an attempt from the government to implement new tax reform. At the moment, there are at least 25 deaths and 87 people missing. Videos on social media show major cities such as Bogota, Cali, and Medellin plagued with protestants, police brutality, and vandalism.
“I need my city”, Balvin says in a voice-over in the trailer. The film was created by Emmy-winning filmmaker Mathew Heineman, Executive Produced by Balvin, Fabio Acosta, Scooter Braun, Allison Kaye, Scott Manson, Jennifer McDaniels, Jenna Millman, Juan Diego Villegas. It is also produced by Juan Camilo Cruz, Myles Estey, Joedan Okun.
J Balvin publicly spoke about his mental health during Becky G’s podcast in November 2020. “I was just crying for no reason. Didn’t want to wake up. Didn’t want to eat, didn’t even want to live,” Balvin told Becky of the period of depression that led to his diagnosis more than seven years ago. “You lose hope and you feel strange at every place you go. You feel like you are outside of your body.”
