First Look at Guava Island: The Mysterious Project of Childish Gambino with Rihanna Unveiled

When Donald Glover and director Hiro Murai collaborate on a new project, expectations are naturally very high.

After all, Murai has made many key episodes of Emmy-winning Glover's award-winning 'Atlanta' series, as well as a video clip of 'This Is America', the Grammy-winning song that Glover recorded as his alter Musical ego, Childish Gambino.

But with their first feature, "Guava Island," you got the impression that Glover and Murai were trying to minimize those expectations. The film, which lasts 54 minutes, was shot in Cuba last year and kept secret until this week. It's not easy to do when your star is so famous and Rihanna plays his love.

And while all of the world's film festivals have coveted Murai's first feature film, "Guava Island" debuted Thursday night at the Coachella Campgrounds in California, where Glover will be the site's music festival title. Childish Gambino's name. Shortly after the end of his filming Friday night, the film should begin broadcasting on Amazon from Saturday at 12:01 pm Pacific daylight time.

So, what is this mystery project about? "Guava Island" is a musical fable that follows Deni (Glover), a playful singer who believes that music has the power to unite the struggling citizens of her small island. He promises his girlfriend, Kofi (Rihanna), that he can write a song as beautiful as it is, although Kofi is skeptical. "No song is so beautiful," she boasts. (Letitia Wright, Shuri in "Black Panther") also appears, but she does not have many lines.)

The plot is slight: a tycoon from the island, Red (Nonso Anozie) is trying to prevent Deni from organizing a music festival. He thinks that if people go to see the young man play that night, they may not work in Red's sweatshops the next day. And while Rihanna does not have much to do as Glover's girlfriend, the two men share at least one spiky chemistry: Glover is eager to please, while Rihanna is always hard to impress.

But the main attraction here is something that was kept secret until Thursday night's screening: Glover uses "Guava Island" to piece together and remix some of his biggest recent songs.

"America is a concept," Deni told his colleagues before guiding them in an interpretation of "This Is America" ​​that finds a new context for many people. the familiar and disturbing dance moves of the video. Other musical sequences are installed in Childish Gambino songs, such as "Saturday" and "Summertime Magic", which is reconverted into beach serenade for Rihanna. (Alas, she's a spectator instead of Glover's duet partner.)