Problemista’s first trailer is a work-related stress dream you actually want to see

The first trailer for A24’s Problemista from director Julio Torres plays like a dizzying work-related stress dream — one you actually want to pay attention to because it’s about someone else’s existential crisis.

Problemista’s story revolves around Alejandro Martinez (Torres), a talented and aspiring toymaker from El Salvador who makes his way to New York City hoping to make it big by realizing some of his more experimental, unconventional playthings. Though Alejandro knows in his heart that he belongs in NYC chasing his dreams, with time running out on his current work visa, there’s a very solid chance he could be forced out of the country, putting him in a very difficult position.

Problemista’s first trailer only lets on a bit just how off-putting and unhinged art world pariah Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton) is, but it’s just enough to telegraph what sort of hell Alejandro’s signing up for when he agrees to be her assistant in order to keep working in the US. In exchange for helping Elizabeth curate an exhibition, she’ll sponsor him — ensuring that he can stay in New York. But the trailer also details many of the nonsensical hoops Alejandro has to jump through in order to make his situation work and spotlights how imaginatively Problemista’s going to depict these all-too-real challenges that immigrants face.

Curiously, Problemista doesn’t have a release date just yet, but hopefully this trailer’s a sign that it won’t be too long before it’s in theaters.