‘I’m a Virgin’ Trailer: Boots Riley’s Amazon Show About a 13-Foot Man

Five years after taking the film world by storm with his genre-bending, expectation-shattering debut Sorry to Bother You, Boots Riley returns to narrative storytelling in a big way. His latest project, “I’m a Virgo,” an upcoming Prime Video series, once again examines issues of race in America … through the eyes of a black man who happens to be 13 feet tall.

According to the official synopsis, the series is a darkly comedic, fantastical, coming-of-age joyride about Cootie (Jharrel Jerome), a 13-foot-tall young black man in Oakland, California. He grew up in hiding, passing the time on a diet of comics and TV shows, escaping to experience the beauty and contradictions of the real world. He makes friends, finds love, navigates awkward situations, and meets his idol, the real-life superhero, The Hero (Walton Goggins).

Riley’s comments about the series have always been rather cryptic, as the author seems content to let the high concept of his show speak for itself. In a 2020 interview with IndieWire, he refrained from providing specific details in an attempt to disguise his overall vision.

“I don’t want to give people a sense of what to expect. That’s my job, Riley said. “What I’m going to tell you about is a 13-foot-tall black man who lives in Oakland. He deals with children of an age who cannot be children because they are black. They are not allowed to be of age. It’s about how the world sees him, not how he sees himself.”

He continued: “For me, it’s really an experience. How can I keep her interested and want to keep watching and make her feel something? I don’t want you to keep watching because I’ve done this simple, manipulative thing that makes you want to hit the “watch next” button again. I hate stories that don’t end… I won’t say how many seasons there will be, but there is one story that ends.”

Riley wrote and directed all seven episodes of “I’m a Virgo.” The series will premiere at SXSW this month and later on Prime Video later this year. Check out the trailer below.

(embed)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYfpWY330mM(/embed)

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