Photo still via Amazon.
Here's How Africa and the Diaspora Inspired Donald Glover's 'Guava Island'
The Cuba-shot tropical thriller, starring Donald Glover and Rihanna, recently premiered on Amazon Prime.
Donald Glover premiered his highly-anticipated film Guava Island ahead of his Coachella performance this past weekend. An Amazon exclusive, the film was available to stream for free and is now still available for viewing via Amazon Prime.
The Cuba-shot film stars Glover, who plays Deni Maroon and the illustrious Rihanna, who plays his girlfriend Kofi Novia. What Amazon coins as a "tropical thriller," we follow Glover's character, local musician, and his determination to throw a festival for everyone to enjoy.
<p><em>Guava Island </em>is full of influences and notables from Africa and the Diaspora and we're here for it. It's also evident that Glover enlisted his close-knit crew of collaborators to pull this project off. The film was directed by <strong>Hiro Murai</strong>, who also directed his music video for <a href="https://www.okayafrica.com/sherrie-silver-childish-gambino-this-is-america/" target="_blank">"This Is America,"</a> was executive produced by Grammy-award winner <strong><a href="https://www.okayafrica.com/ibra-ake-mission-show-african-creatives-value-ownership-childish-gambino/" target="_blank">Ibra Ake</a></strong>, who is of Nigerian descent, and was written by Glover's brother <strong>Stephen</strong>. <strong>Mobolaji Dawodu</strong>, GQ fashion director and Nigerian native, led the styling and costume designing of the film.</p>
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Guava Island - Clip: Deni and Kofi | Prime Video</small>
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<p><a href="https://www.vulture.com/2019/04/donald-glover-and-rihanna-guava-island-explainer.html" target="_blank">According to </a><em><a href="https://www.vulture.com/2019/04/donald-glover-and-rihanna-guava-island-explainer.html">Vulture</a></em>, Stephen was inspired by global (and black) cult classics, including <strong>Prince's</strong> <em>Purple Rain</em>, <em>City of God, Black Orpheus </em>and <em><a href="https://www.okayafrica.com/on-the-run-tour-ii-promo-poster-references-touki-bouki-senegalese-film-beyonce-jay-z/" target="_blank">Touki Bouki</a></em>, a 1973 film by Senegal's own <strong>Djibril Diop Mambéty</strong>.<br></p><p>Ake <a href="https://www.vogue.com/vogueworld/article/donald-glover-rihanna-coachella-guava-island-stream-amazon" target="_blank">explains to <em>Vogue</em></a> that the styling and costuming in <em>Guava Island </em>is also inspired by the Diaspora to create the film's fictional, all-black world with Africa as the anchor. "The clothing was a huge palette for us to express ourselves and tell stories," he says. </p><p><div class="dfp_atf-slot" data-not-loaded="true"></div><script type="text/javascript">
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</script></p><p>For Dawodu, having Rihanna don a gele with her blue ensemble in the final scene of the film was a nod to his Nigerian aunties. "I saw a lot of women in my family in the head tie," he shares with <em>Vogue</em>, "so for Rihanna, a pop icon around the world, to wear a Nigerian gele, that's just amazing. It just pushes her whole outfit over the top. It's very powerful."</p><p>And now to the rest of the cast. We see Guyanese-British <em>Black Panther </em>star <strong>Letitia Wright</strong> play <strong>Yara</strong>, Kofi's best friend, who's pushes Rihanna's character to lighten up in the film. Nigerian-British actor <strong>Nonso Anozie</strong> plays <strong>Red Cargo</strong>, the eerie character whose family essentially runs Guava Island through fear and violence. Anozie may be a familiar face as he plated <strong>Xaro Xhoan Daxos</strong> in <em>Game of Thrones</em>.</p><p>Here's a clip featuring Glover and Anozie below.</p>
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<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9a09e14585924d14d23af7cd28a54b6d"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jwL38Qsr14I?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Guava Island - Clip: Deni and Red I Prime Video</small>
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<p>Watch <em>Guava Island </em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/adlp/41016936" target="_blank">here</a>. <br></p>
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