Rihanna and Glover film to premiere at Coachella

INDIO, United States: A highly anticipated film from Donald Glover, also known as his rap alter ego Childish Gambino, and Rihanna is set to drop late on Friday.

The 54-minute “Guava Island” is set for release just after midnight following Childish Gambino’s headlining performance at the first night of Coachella, the premier desert music festival in California.

YouTube announced a special one-off screening after which the film will be available for screening on Amazon Prime.

Glover and Rihanna made the much-hyped tropical thriller in Cuba with director Hiro Murai, who is also behind Glover’s acclaimed “Atlanta” series and directed the performer’s video for the Grammy-winning hit “This Is America.”

The film — which screened late on Thursday at Coachella for a select group — reportedly sees Rihanna play singer Glover’s tough-to-please girlfriend, and centres on themes of music’s power to unify and the weight of capitalism.

“We live in paradise, but none of us actually have the time or the means to live here,” Glover says in a teaser trailer for the film, which is said to feature remixes of his music.

The performer has cited inspirations ranging from Prince’s “Purple Rain” to “City of God” in making the film, and critics have compared his ambitions in the visual realm to those of pop futurist Janelle Monae — who will perform at Coachella just before Glover — and music royalty Beyonce.

Netflix meanwhile has announced it will release Beyonce’s new film “Homecoming” on Apr 17, a documentary centred on her earth-shaking headliner performance at 2018’s Coachella.

“Homecoming” will show an “intimate, in-depth look” at the performance preparations, Netflix said, showing “the emotional road from creative concept to cultural movement.”

The 2018 highly acclaimed show, which celebrated the lineage of black music primarily in the American South, saw Beyonce perform for nearly two hours with a number of guest appearances including from her sister Solange and her former bandmates from the group Destiny’s Child. — AFP

attention to detail. I love how much you care,” she said, before adding, “When there’s new music, you’ll be the first to know.” Swift’s last album was her sixth project, Reputation, which was released in November 2017 and launched with 1.2 million copies sold in its first week. In March 2018, the album became her sixth to sell more than two million copies in the US. (From left) Moderator Stephen Colbert, director J.J. Abrams, Producer Kathleen Kennedy, Anthony daniels (C-3Po), Billy dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), daisy Ridley (Rey, also bottom right), John Boyega (Finn), oscar Isaac (Poe dameron), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), naomi Ackie (Jannah) and R2-d2 onstage during ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ panel at the Star Wars Celebration at McCormick Place Convention Center on Friday in Chicago, Illinois. — AFP photo

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