"HI. Two tickets, please."
"Which movie?"
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This upcoming comedy, audaciously titled “The American Society of Magical Negroes,” has a trailer. Why am I covering this film? For two reasons: the title is outrageous, and it’s also set to have its world premiere at Sundance next month.
This is the directorial debut of filmmaker Kobi Libii. “The American Society of Magical Negroes” is about a young man, Aren, who is recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to making white people’s lives easier.”
Yeah, so that synopsis will surely rile up some heads, and I’m all up for a new cinematic provocation. The film seems to be parodying the “magical negro” movie trope for which films such as “The Green Mile” and “Green Book” were previously accused of using — call Libii’s film satire, if you’d like.
Libii is actually an alum of the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Lab, which is where he developed ‘Magical Negroes.’ The film stars Justice Smith, David Alan Grier, An-Li Bogan, Drew Tarver, Michaela Watkins, Aisha Hinds, Tim Baltz, with Rupert Friend and Nicole Byer.
After its Sundance premiere, where Libii surely hopes that his film will be the talk of Park City, Focus Features will release the film theatrically on March 22, 2024.
Of note, Focus Features has a jam packed year ahead of them, they additionally have Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders,” Ethan Coen’s “Drive-Away Dolls,” Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black,” Diablo Cody’s “Lisa Frankenstein,” and Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” releasing in 2024.