“Boys State” sees a thousand Texas high school seniors gathering for a week-long program to build their own state government. A new trailer for Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ doc suggests that the mock exercise gets more than a little heated. Even those who are “playing this like a game” admit they would “very much like to win.”

The spot introduces an eclectic group of candidates, some of whom are fighting to ensure that “masculinity shall not be infringed.” Others are realizing that as a progressive they’re in a room “full of mostly conservative people.”

The room is also full of mostly white people. “I’ve never seen so many white people ever,” a Black student emphasizes. He describes a peer as a “fantastic politician” before adding that he “doesn’t think a fantastic politician is a compliment.”

The mock election is, of course, influenced by the real world of politics. “A message of unity, as good as it sounds, is not winning anyone any elections,” an aspiring governor observes.

“Boys State” won the Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The film opens in select theaters July 31 and premieres on Apple TV+ August 14.