Kanye West seems to be following his Cruel Summer mixtape with a Cruel Winter movie. The secretive project was revealed via an enigmatic YouTube trailer, promising a forthcoming short film.
According to the trailer, the film was directed by Austin Christianson, in association with West's production company, Donda. Christianson's previous work includes videos for Burberry and other fashion labels.
The trailer suggests Cruel Winter is a cross between a David Attenborough documentary and a Godspeed You! Black Emperor video: Christianson shows bare trees and trembling branches, with ghostly strings and a speech by George H W Bush. There's no release date or cast list, just "COMING SOON."
If the past is any indication, Christianson's Cruel Winter movie will precede a Cruel Winter album. That's what happened last season: before West's label, GOOD Music, released its Cruel Summer compilation, the rapper flew to Cannes and premiered a 30-minute short film called Cruel Summer. He directed it himself, shooting Kid Cudi in the desert of Qatar and incorporating songs by Big Sean, John Legend, Raekwon, and a remix of Coldplay's Paradise. Neither the film nor most of the soundtrack have ever been widely released.
Hints of a Cruel Winter album began dropping last month, through the rapper (and GOOD signee) Q-Tip. "If there's a Cruel Summer then there's got to be a Cruel Winter, right?" he told MTV News. "That's all I'm saying."
