Deadline reports that SXSW has released the first clip of their newest film, The Prank, starring Rita Moreno. Director Maureen Bharoocha returns the actress to high school in a dark comedy form. March 13th marks the film’s release. In The Prank, Moreno plays the stern, mean, and cruel physics teacher, Mrs. Wheeler. She has been teaching at the high school for decades and has a reputation for being the coldest and most difficult faculty member.
Throughout the film, Mrs. Wheeler encounters the film’s protagonist, Ben, who is played by Connor Kalopsis, a typical overachiever, driven, careful and organized student who gets assigned to her class. When someone in the class gets caught cheating, Mrs. Wheeler threatens to fail Ben and all his classmates unless the cheater reveals themselves. Ben and his best friend Tanner (Ramona Young) sets a plan to ruin her life by framing her for murder on social media.
Keith David, Kate Flannery, Meredith Salenger, Jonathan Kimmel, Nathan Janak, Betsy Sodaro, and Romel De Silva are also included in the cast. Rebecca Flinn-White and Zak White pen the script. SXSW debuts its in-person edition Friday and runs through March 20. Watch The Prank‘s first look below.