A24 has released the official trailer for their new movie Zola, which premiered at Sundance in early 2020. The film is based on a viral Twitter thread that tells the true story of two strippers who embark on a treacherous road trip across Florida.
Directed by Janicza Bravo and starring Riley Keough as Stefani and Taylour Paige as Zola, who fall in love with one another and trek across the state to see how much money they can make as dancers. The two are joined by Stefani’s erratically violent boyfriend Derrek (Nicholas Braun) and her “roommate” X (Colman Domingo), but shortly into the trip, Zola realizes that Stefani is a sex worker and Derrek is her pimp.
The real Zola recounted the wild tale in a famous 2015 Twitter thread that was then adapted into a slightly dramatized Rolling Stone article, and naturally, A24 (Eighth Grade, Uncut Gems, The Lighthouse) pounced on turning it into a feature film. Like most movies last year, Zola was postponed due to the pandemic, but now the flick is set to premiere in theatres on June 30th.
If the basic premise doesn’t hook you, Zola‘s trailer is certainly something to behold. Raunchy humor, fierce romance, piles of money, looming danger, and the type of artsy cinematography and editing that A24 films are known for. Check out the full two-minute preview below.
In our review of Zola after previewing it at Sundance 2020, Consequence’s Clint Worthington wrote that “it’s downright thrilling to watch a film breeze through its grimly funny energy with such exuberant confidence, especially with such a new, vibrant voice in Paige.” Save for a few script misfires and a slightly underwhelming ending, we rated it an “A-“, so as long as vaccines roll out properly and theatres are in full throttle this summer, Zola is going to be making waves.
