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Trailer Watch: Martine Syms’s The African Desperate
MUBI has released a new trailer for The African Desperate, the feature debut from acclaimed visual artist Martine Syms. Filmmaker previously interviewed Syms during the film’s premiere at this year’s edition of New Directors/New Films as well as for our most recent Summer print issue.
The African Desperate follows Palace Bryant (Sym’s frequent collaborator Diamond Stingily) on her final day at an MFA program in New York’s Hudson Valley. During these last 24 hours of art school, Palace experiences the full gamut of grad school woes and (synthetic) wonders—including a racist final thesis review, encounters with her insufferable classmates and many, many different drugs to dull the ignorance and absurdity inherent to these interactions. Though she originally planned to skip the end of program party to pack and head back to her hometown of Chicago as early as possible, her last hours as an art school student prove far more chaotic than she could have ever imagined.
On September 16, The African Desperate will open in NYC via MUBI, with a wider expansion to follow shortly.
