The Square: Exclusive trailer offers 101 on hilarious Oscar nominee

Starring 'her from The Handmaid's Tale', Elisabeth Moss, and 'him from The Wire', Dominic West

The art world can feel a little impenetrable at times.

So, it seems perfect that the new trailer for Ruben Östlund's The Square, which satirises its loftier intentions, amongst many things - male narcissism, human cowardice, sexual politics - would take a more meta-approach to the form. It's a 101 on the film, detailing its fancy award (the Palme D'Or at last year's Cannes Film Festival), awesome press quotes, and "her from The Handmaid's Tale".

A follow-up to the similarly bleakly funny Force Majeure, Östlund's The Square follows Christian (Claes Bang), the curator at a prestigious art museum in Stockholm, who finds himself plunged into both a personal and professional crisis when he attempts to debut a controversial new exhibit.

The Square is actually the title of a real-life installation that the director, alongside producer Kalle Bornan, set up at the design museum Vandalorum in Sweden in 2014, with a manifesto that read: "The Square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within it we all share equal rights and obligations."

It was moved into a public plaza in Varnamo in 2015, with Östlund noting its altruistic intentions have actually had a significant effect on the local community. He told CNN that "functionally handicapped people who lost their benefits from the state went there and protested ... It was close to a high school shooting in Sweden and (students) gathered together (there), to find comfort together."

The film, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Oscars, also stars Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West, and Terry Notary.

You can watch The Square in cinemas & on demand from 16 March.

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for all the latest on Film, TV, Music, and more.