“The African Desperate” trailer: Martine Syms’ feature debut deconstructs the race in the world of high art

Los Angeles-based artist Martine Syms is turning the art world upside down with her feature debut 'The African Desperate'.

A coming-of-age comedy, the film premiered at New Directors/New Films this year as a closing night selection, and opens in theaters September 16 at Brooklyn Arts Museum (BAM) and at the Quad in New York, as well as some cinemas in the country, from Mubi

According to the official synopsis, “The African Desperate” charts a very long day for Palace Bryant (an expert and deadpan Diamond Stingily), a fresh MFA grad whose last day of art school becomes a real journey. Palace won't go to the fucking graduation party! She hates the woods. If this was a reality show, she would be the person who wasn't there to make friends. Palace is to return home to Chicago from upstate New York. But that means surviving a hazy, hilarious, mind-bending nocturnal odyssey, stumbling between academic reviews and backstage encounters.

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BAM, a program of cinematic influences from Syms, from September 9 to 15, until the premiere of "The African Desperate" on September 16. With movies like "Eve's Bayou," "Working Girls," "Go" and "Party Monster" among the shortlisted films, BAM's selection of showpieces includes "indie classics to hidden gems from top directors and classics." vanguard of contemporary visual artists" for a "radical exploration of youth culture" across generations, according to a programming note.

Syms has presented her work in solo exhibitions at MoMA, ICA London, Tate Modern and the Art Institute of Chicago. Syms has also done commissioned work for brands such as Prada, Nike, Celine, Kanye West and NTS, among others. She is the recipient of the Creative Capital Award, an Artists Grant from the United States, the Tiffany Foundation Prize and the Future Fields Art Prize. Syms is also part of a group called Aunt Sister and hosts Double Penetration, a monthly radio show on NTS. She also runs Dominica Publishing.

IndieWire's Kate Erbland wrote in the New Directors/New Films 2022 excerpt that "The African Desperate" tackles "black identity, queer theory and the power of language" to examine the exclusive nature of the world of great art.

"Starring fellow artist Diamond Stingily as its protagonist Palace, 'The African Desperate' seems to chronicle a world the duo knows well: American art schools, so often white, rigid and uninterested in mixing things up,” Erbland wrote.

"The African Desperate" is written by Syms and co-writer Rocket Caleshu.

Check out the trailer, an IndieWire exclusive, below.