“You wanna hear a story about how me and this bitch here fell out?” opens the trailer for Zola. “It’s kind of long, but it’s full of suspense.”
Referencing the opening tweet of Zola’s (AKA Aziah King) viral 2015 Twitter thread, the 43-second clip is the first proper glimpse at the long-awaited film, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year.
If you don’t already know, here’s a brief summary of the story (you can find the full thread here): after Zola meets Hooters waitress and “white bitch” Jess, the pair take a trip to Florida with Jess’ boyfriend Jarrett and “hulking Black guy” (and pimp) Z. What starts off as a stripping road trip soon descends into sex, murder, and a near-suicide.
The hotly-anticipated adaptation of Zola’s wild story is directed by Atlanta collaborator Janicza Bravo, who co-wrote the script with Jeremy O. Harris, and stars Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Nicholas Braun, and Colman Domingo as the leads. It’s also scored by Mica Levi, the avant-garde composer behind Monos, Jackie, and Under the Skin.
Distributed by A24 – the company behind Uncut Gems, Euphoria, and Mid90s – Zola has so far been described by critics as a “fucked up fairy tale” and “a buddy comedy with a sociopolitical sting in its tail”.
As of yet, there’s no confirmed release date for the film, with the trailer mysteriously revealing that it’s “coming soon”. Watch it below.