'Dear White People' Trailer Released: Controversial Justin Simien Movie Pokes Fun At Race Relations, Teaser Trailer Goes Viral [VIDEO]

The controversial comedy "Dear White People," has released a teaser trailer that has gone viral. 

"Dear White People" is the story of a riot that breaks out after white Ivy League college students throw a party mocking African Americans.

Directed by freshman director Justin Simien, the film was recently shown at the Los Angeles Film Festival and earlier this year and on won the Sundance Film Festival's Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent.

The film stars Tyler James Williams from "Everybody Hates Chris", Tessa Thompson from "Veronica Mars", Kyle Gallner from"Veronica Mars" and "Smallville", Brandon Bell from "Mission Impossible III, Teyonah Parris from "How Do You Know?" and "Mad Men", and Dennis Haysbert from "24″ and "The Unit."

According to Variety.com, the premiere "evoked a mix of raucous laughter and uncomfortable silences" at the Los Angeles Film Festival. In just the trailer we can see the movie take on recent films about race relations such as "The Help", "The Blindside", and "The Butler."

Watch the trailer here.

It also pokes a little fun at the movie "Gremlins" in the scene, she says: "The Gremlins are loud, talk in slang, are addicted to fried chicken, and freak out when you get their hair wet."

Director Simien, however, insists that the racial themes aren't the ultimate driver of the film's message. "The conflict of who you are and who you show to the world - that's a universal situation."

Produced by Duly Noted and Homegrown Pictures, Dear White People will be released by Lionsgate

"Dear White People" may be a satire about race relations but cast members said they hope people walk away with more than just a few laughs.

"I want people to walk away from the film feeling some kind of way," said writer-director Justin Simien. "I want [viewers] to have enjoyed themselves but even more so I want there to be some sort of thing in them that is kind of disturbed that they have to talk about."

Simien, who went to Chapman University in Orange County, said he put himself into many of the characters.

"I wanted to comment on my black experience --being a black face navigating between white spaces and black space, not really sure how I fit into either," he said. "That was the experience of many of my friends and peers."

Tessa Thompson, who plays the activist and film protagonist Samantha, said character growth is at the core of the film.

"It's really about identity and who you are, who you think you ought to be and who people want to you to be," she said. "I think it's something that we all deal with."

"The riot at the race-themed party...hits close to home," said actor Brandon Bell, who plays Troy in the movie.  "If you've been to college in the U.S. you've seen that."

"The film is funny, at the end of the day... but it will definitely strike a nerve," he said.

"At Sundance...there was a woman who worked at a Fortune 500 company that said, your film should be shown in our race sensitivity meetings," Bell recalled. "That blew me away because you make a film to entertain but when it goes above and beyond and changes the way people think...that's just icing on the cake."

"Dear White People" is scheduled to hit theaters on October 17.

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