IMDb's 2024 Sundance Cheat Sheet: The Festival Films You Need to Know About5 of 12
The American Society of Magical Negroes
Developed as part of the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Lab, writer-director Kobi Libii's debut feature had a full-circle moment when it premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Libii flips the tired Magical Negro trope on its head in his fantastical-satirical comedy about a young man who is recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to making white people's lives easier. In Libii's words, making the film allowed him to "explore some of the defense mechanisms [he] was taught to respond to racism...and how to keep [himself] safe in America." The playful and powerful story stars Justice Smith, David Alan Grier, Aisha Hinds, and Rupert Friend, with an upcoming theatrical release via Focus Features.
Developed as part of the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Lab, writer-director Kobi Libii's debut feature had a full-circle moment when it premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Libii flips the tired Magical Negro trope on its head in his fantastical-satirical comedy about a young man who is recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to making white people's lives easier. In Libii's words, making the film allowed him to "explore some of the defense mechanisms [he] was taught to respond to racism...and how to keep [himself] safe in America." The playful and powerful story stars Justice Smith, David Alan Grier, Aisha Hinds, and Rupert Friend, with an upcoming theatrical release via Focus Features.
PeopleDavid Alan Grier, Aisha Hinds, Justice Smith
Photo by Tobin Yelland/Focus Features ©2/Tobin Yelland/Focus Features ©2 - © 2024 Focus Features, LLC.