Emmanuel Adjei had quite a summer — even with the pandemic. In July, the Ghanaian-Dutch director and visual artist shot to global recognition thanks to his co-direction of Beyoncé’s visual album Black Is King, including the symbolic segment in which she sets her baby in a basket and casts him down a reed-lined river. Then again, 2019 saw his name attached to two powerful videos by Madonna, who cold-called him after seeing “Shahmaran,” the monumental sci-fi vision he created for the Iranian-Dutch singer Sevdaliza. All this in a career that started barely a decade ago.
With his combination of grand, painterly lighting and imagery, rich symbolism and a drive to address authority, injustice and displacement, the 32-year-old director’s vision is made for the moment we’re living in. It makes sense to learn that, growing up outside of Amsterdam and, later, studying fine art in Utrecht and film in Ghent, he was very much influenced by Dutch masters such as Rembrandt. “Even though I’m Ghanian by ethnicity,” he explained from his home in Amsterdam, “I feel very Dutch — just by researching and having a lot of Dutch masters as art inspiration.”
Steeping himself in imagery is a key part of preparation for Adjei, who went to great lengths while researching his contributions to Black Is King, which celebrates African history and culture, toggling between the ancient and modern as it brings to life her 2019 album, The Lion King: The Gift. “When researching all the different cultures, traditions, and aesthetics of West and Central Africa, I soon realized that it generated an overwhelming amount of beauty, which easily could get you art blind!” he said, recalling the lead up to the year-long shoot, which took place on three continents. “I remember having several meetings with Beyoncé and her team at Parkwood, and endless calls with her creative director Kwasi Fordjour trying to find the best way to turn this all into a sincere, well-balanced audio-visual document. The challenge for us all was to present elements of Black culture with a universal message and a modern twist to the Lion King story without losing the authenticity of African storytelling.”
During the summer, the pandemic kept Adjei and his partner, who is also his writing partner, from his usual travel-packed work life. He used the time to work on two features (and sign with a big new agency). We’re looking forward to seeing what incredible visions those rare interior still-lifes brought forth.
Growing up in Amsterdam, it must have been incredible to have had access to such a great museum.
Definitely. A couple of years ago, I directed this film for the Dutch museum nights, when they open all the big Amsterdam museums at night, once a year. I immediately thought about trying to connect all these museums and use them as a film set. It ended up being a film where we follow this character who comes out of “The Night Watch” from Rembrandt. The mysterious girl in “The Night Watch” has been awakened by this spirit as she travels through different museums and encounters other art pieces and has an interaction with it.
What was so great about that project was that I was able to reconnect on a personal level with the paintings and the sculptures that I grew up with and also that I had a personal relationship with. What was really the cherry on top was that at the premiere, I got introduced to Steve McQueen, who happened to be there with his kids. He saw the film and he was like, “That's a fucking brilliant film.” That was such a great thing because it was so ambitious, but at the same time it was very different from what I was used to doing.
And what are the other great museums in the Netherlands? I feel like people just do the Rijksmuseum.
