The Tribeca Film Festival has announced that the upcoming film In the Heights will serve as opening night for its landmark 20th edition. A press release declared that “We’re taking the A train to Washington Heights for an incredible world premiere,” which will actually take place in all five New York City boroughs at multiple outdoor venues. This marks an early debut for the upcoming film, which will now bow on June 9th, two days before its simultaneous release in theaters and on HBO Max.
In the Heights is most associated as the first creative effort by Lin-Manuel Miranda before he gained universal fame for Hamilton. The show, set in New York City’s Washington Heights, won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, in 2008.
A film adaptation was first announced back in 2008 and has had many false starts since then, including a stint in development at The Weinstein Company.
Its current version was originally scheduled to be released last June before being delayed nearly a fully year due to the pandemic.
The Tribeca Film Festival shared its plans to host in-person events this summer several weeks ago, as we reported. While how exactly the festival will look is still taking shape, this news confirms earlier indications that it will spread beyond the Tribeca neighborhood and into other areas of New York City. This high-profile premiere assures that plenty of attention will be on the festival, which normally boasts a strong, star-studded lineup but was mostly under-the-radar last year in its digital edition just after the pandemic began.
Miranda, who wrote the music and lyrics for the original In the Heights and serves as a producer for the film, shared his reaction to this news. “It is such an honor to open the 20th anniversary Tribeca Festival with In the Heights. We’re so excited to welcome them uptown! This will be an unforgettable night at the United Palace. We can’t wait to share this musical love letter to our community, with our community, in our community.”
Here’s the Trailer for the film, “In the Heights.”