J.Lo documentary opens Tribeca Festival in NYC
Jennifer Lopez is kicking off this year’s Tribeca Festival — as the subject of a new documentary.
“Halftime,” premiering on the festivals’ opening night of June 8, follows the Bronx-bred J.Lo as she “reflects on her milestones and evolution as an artist and navigates the second half of her career,” according to festival organizers. The title is a reference to when Lopez hosted the Super Bowl halftime show with Shakira in 2020, considered a milestone moment for Latino performers.
The film will premiere at the United Palace in Manhattan’s Washington Heights and debut on Netflix on June 14.
Director Amanda Micheli said in a statement that it’s “so fitting to be celebrating this critical milestone in Jennifer’s life and career just miles from where she grew up. To have the opportunity to share this film on the big screen with a New York audience is a dream come true.”
The Tribeca Festival runs through June 19.
CUBAN BASEBALL DOC TO AIR ON PBS
“The Last Out,” a documentary on Cuban baseball documentary, was acquired by PBS “POV” and will air in October pegged to the start of the MLB postseason and the end of Hispanic Heritage Month. Made by Oscar-nominated directors Sami Khan and Michael Gassert (“St. Louis Superman”), the doc follows a trio of Cuban ballplayers in their homeland as they dream of one day playing pro ball in America.
The film won a special jury award at the 2020 Tribeca Festival.
‘BROWNSVILLE BRED’ WINS SXSW AWARD
It started as an Off-offBroadway solo play, was turned into a young adult novel, and now “Brownsville Bred” is an award-winning film.
The first part of Brooklyn native Elaine Del Valle’s coming of age tale premiered at the renowned SXSW film festival in Austin, Texas last month, where it won the coveted SXSW Audience Award.
Del Valle, who filmed her screenplay’s first act in her hometown, released the completed first act on the film festival circuit to attract partners. Pre-production for the remainder of the full-length feature is currently underway, with filming set to resume later this year.
J BALVIN CONCERT TOUR CANCELED
J Balvin will be a no-show at his long-awaited “Jose” tour.
The Colombian star this week blamed COVID “for some unforeseen production challenges,” and told fans he “wouldn’t be able to keep my promise of giving you the absolute best show possible.”
The singer added that producers are rescheduling dates and honoring tickets.
Balvin’s tour was set to scheduled kick off in San Antonio next week with stops that included Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Dallas, Miami and Boston.