Creating the Visual Landscape of THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAGICAL NEGROES with Kobi Libii and Doug Emmett | presented by the Dolby Institute
About this Event Recording
One of the most important relationships in the filmmaking process is the collaboration of the director and cinematographer. In this discussion centered around the breakout satire, The American Society of Magical Negroes, we explore how they work together to set the tone and tell the story visually.
Join Glenn Kiser, Director of the Dolby Institute, for a conversation with writer/director Kobi Libii and Sundance Film Festival veteran cinematographer Doug Emmett (Sorry to Bother You, The One I Love). In this session, they discuss creating a cohesive and exciting visual language from pre-production through post, highlighting specific scenes from the film.
The American Society of Magical Negroes was released by Focus Features. Variety reviewer Owen Gleiberman wrote, “‘The American Society of Magical Negroes’ is a deftly observant fantasy comedy that stays true to its own irreverence.” The film was developed by Libii in the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs in 2019, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, and was the recipient of a Dolby Institute Fellowship.
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Event RecordingTeam
Kobi Libii
writer/Director/Producer
Kobi Libii is an actor, writer, and director, most recently seen writing and performing on Comedy Central’s The Opposition with Jordan Klepper. Past acting credits include Transparent, Girls, Jessica Jones, Madam Secretary, Doubt, and Alpha House. Libii studied theater at Yale University and comedy at Second City Chicago. The American Society of Magical Negroes is his feature film directorial debut.
Doug Emmett
Cinematographer
At the moment Doug is at home in Los Angeles raising a family and working in town on a new television series. His most recent feature, The American Society of Magical Negroes (dir. Kobi Libii, Focus Features), premiered at Sundance and will release theatrically in March 2024. Later this year, Doug’s work on Presumed Innocent will debut on Apple TV. This reimagining of the classic novel stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Ruth Nega, and Peter Sarsgaard.
In 2023 Emmett shot the independent series Hal & Harper with Mark Ruffalo for writer-director Cooper Raiff. His prior work, the Sundance award-winning Breaking (John Boyega, Dir. Abi Demaris Corbin) released theatrically summer 2022. In the fall of 2021 Doug shot the mini series Angelyne for Peacock based on the life of the eponymous billboard queen of Los Angeles. In 2020 Doug teamed up with writer-director Julie Delpy to shoot her new Netflix series On The Verge, of which he shot 9 episodes. 2019 was a busy year between shooting 2nd unit on Euphoria, filming J Blakeson’s I Care A Lot for Blackbear Pictures (Netflix), and for HBO Max Unpregnant - directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg. Sorry To Bother You, written & directed by Boots Riley, premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for Gotham Awards and won at the Indie Spirit Awards.
In years prior, Doug photographed the first two seasons of HBO's Room 104. A Duplass Brothers original series, Room 104 presented Emmett with the unique challenge of shooting 24 half-hour episodes all in one hotel room. ICG Magazine featured Room 104 in this September issue. Additionally, he photographed pilots for The Rookie, Tell Me a Story, and Speechless. Past feature film credits include The One I Love, Edge of 17, and The To Do List. Doug’s film career stretches back to 2009 and the completion of Breaking marked Emmett’s 20th feature film.
The East Coast native is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Emmett is a Union Local 600 cinematographer and a member of the Directors Guild of America, and represented by United Talent Agency.
Glenn Kiser
Moderator | Director of the Dolby Institute
Glenn Kiser is the Director of the Dolby Creator Lab, Dolby’s initiative to bring education and inspiration to filmmakers and content creators about the creative use of sound and picture in storytelling. Previously, Kiser was the VP & General Manager of Lucasfilm’s Skywalker Sound, where he oversaw sound work on film projects such as Avatar, The Incredibles, the Star Wars prequels, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter films.
Before joining Skywalker, Kiser was a post-production executive at Propaganda Films, where he worked with directors including David Fincher, Spike Jonze, Jane Campion, and Neil LaBute. Fun facts: Glenn played a mean tuba in high school, and at one time Marlon Brando called him obsessively for two weeks.
He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.