The mystery of Guava Island: What is Rihanna and Donald Glover's 'secret' film about?

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Fans rejoiced when news leaked in August that award winning multi-hyphenate artist Donald Glover (also known as Childish Gambino, his rap name) and superstar musician Rihanna were working on a film in Havana, Cuba.

Once it became known Glover and Rihanna were working together, posts of Rihanna in Havana began to surface along with photographs of the film and its set, titled Guava Island, appearing online.

However, the film is still shrouded in mystery despite jittery videos of a teaser recently surfacing.

What is known about Guava Island so far is that Glover and Rihanna star in the film, as does Black Panther actress Letitia Wright and Game of Thrones actor Nonso Anozie.

The film is directed by Hiro Murai, who helmed multiple episodes of the critically acclaimed and award-winning television series Atlanta, which Glover created and acts in, airing stateside on FX and on BBC America in the UK.

A teaser trailer of Guava Island debuted on November 24 in New Zealand at the Pharos Festival, which Glover curated.

In the clip, Glover strums his guitar and ponders his surroundings, saying: "We live in paradise, but none of us actually have the time or the means to live here." After that, it's a journey through the streets of Havana, with Glover weaving between crowds, parades and gangs on some sort of mission.

It's colourful, atmospheric and movement-heavy, easily meeting the high bar of Childish Gambino's music video for This Is America - the number one hit that addressed gun violence, mass shootings and racism, and which was also directed by Murai.
The Guava Island teaser has stoked the flames of curiosity about their film; hopefully, a full-length trailer will be imminent.