Back in February 2018, New Regency, the Hollywood production company behind The Revenant and Bohemian Rhapsody, took a meeting with Donald Glover, who has won Emmys as the creator of FX’s Atlanta and won Grammys as his musical alter ego, Childish Gambino. Glover didn’t have a script, but he did have an idea he’d been toying with and a month-long window in between his summer promotional duties for Solo: A Star Wars Story and his fall tour.

The New Regency suits said yes on the spot, and with good reason. While “This Is America,” Glover’s 2018 viral music video, wouldn’t splash down until May, he had at that point already amassed more cultural caché than some artists can muster in a lifetime—and he came with a proven track record for creating the kind of content (lyrical, funny, shocking, socially engaged, mysterious) that can capture the ever-more fickle attention spans of young viewers. It is, in a phrase, Rihanna-level clout, as certified by the pop star’s eventual casting as Glover’s love interest in the film.

Such influence also undeniably helped when Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon Studios, decided to plunk down a hefty chunk of the e-tailer’s change to distribute the film based on her watching a four-and-a-half minute sizzle reel via a one-time viewing link that expired 30 minutes after she received it. (Neither New Regency nor Amazon would discuss the size of their respective deals.)

“I would have committed to Donald sight unseen.” she said. “I knew whatever he wanted to amplify would have relevance and be entertaining. He has that ability to create cultural moments and spread a message that’s interesting.”

When Guava Island, the resulting music-driven, hour-long film shot largely in secret in Havana, has its premiere Thursday night on the Coachella campgrounds on the eve of the valley’s annual Music and Arts Festival, it will be many things: public unveiling, artist’s statement, and teaser for Glover’s headlining slot the next night. But it will also be the latest shot in the content wars, in which burgeoning platforms work to distinguish themselves from one another by curating cultural stunts designed to create their own Lemonade-sized, days-long moment. Thanks to the deals Glover and New Regency made with Amazon, the movie will go wide on Amazon Prime for free for 18 hours beginning at 12:01 A.M. P.T. on Saturday. It will also stream on Amazon’s Twitch platform, once at 5 P.M. P.T. on Saturday, while simulcast on Coachella’s YouTube Channel.