A24 has released the Mid90s trailer. Written and directed by Jonah Hill, the film follows 13-year-old Stevie over the course of the summer as he makes friends with a group of skaters.

It’s a surprising debut for Hill, who, although he’s done dramatic work in his career, is largely known for his comedies. Rather than try and come out the gate with something broadly comic or putting himself in front of the camera, Mid90s looks like it’s largely stepping back to tell a small, human story with lots of specificity in the setting and characters. I wouldn’t be surprised if A24 tries to put this one on the fall festival circuit, and it certainly looks like an interesting debut from Hill. You can tell from interviews that although he can play broad comedy, Hill is a pretty serious guy, and that comes through in what appears to be an incredibly earnest project.

While sometimes actors get knocked as a “vanity project” for their directorial debut, judging by the trailer, Mid90s looks like anything but. It appears to be incredibly lived-in, and what’s most surprising is that it doesn’t even really try to sell itself on the cast even though it has Oscar-nominee Lucas Hedges in a supporting role. It’s a brave move both by A24 and Hill, and I’m eager to see how it all pays off. It could make for Mid90s being one of the more potent movies to fly under the radar this fall.

Check out the Mid90s trailer and poster below. The film opens October 19th.

Here’s the official synopsis for Mid90s:

Written and directed by Jonah Hill, Mid90s follows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old in 90s-era LA who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.