“This school is unwilling to see itself for what it truly is,” we’re told in a new trailer for “Master.” Set at an elite New England university that’s nearly as old as the country, Mariama Diallo’s feature debut sees three Black women trying to find their place at the institution: Gail (Regina Hall, “Black Monday”), a professor who has has recently been promoted to “Master” of a residence hall, marking the first time that a Black woman has held the post; Jasmine (Zoe Renee, “Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase”), a freshman who is assigned a room that’s rumored to be haunted; and Liv (Amber Gray, “The Underground Railroad”)a professor in the midst of a racially charged tenure review.

The spot emphasizes that “the whole school’s cursed,” and the trio at the center of the story seem to bear the brunt of that curse.

“The word ‘master’ is so full and multifaceted – and so absolutely loaded. I spent a lot of time thinking about the word itself, and from there the story began to evolve,” Diallo told us. “I knew early on that I wanted to follow a black woman who had been given the academic title of ‘Master.’ I wanted to watch how she responded to the expectation placed on her, and how her behavior and perspective changed as a result.”

Asked what she’d like people to think about after watching the film, the writer-director told us, “Is it possible to live honestly in a fundamentally dishonest place? How can a physical space distort behavior? What does that mean for we the people?”

“Master” hits theaters and Prime Video March 18.