Clubhouse Conversations — Marty Supreme

In-depth coverage of cinematographer Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC's work on Marty Supreme will be featured in American Cinematographer's January 2026 issue. Learn more here about how to subscribe to the industry's leading journal of motion-picture production techniques.

In this episode, cinematographer Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC is joined by interviewer Richard Crudo, ASC to discuss his work on Marty Supreme — a sports comedy-drama from director Josh Safdie that follows a ping-pong prodigy in pursuit of greatness in 1950s New York City.

Marty Supreme tells the story of Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet), a young man terminally frustrated by the grind at his uncle's shoe store on New York's Lower East side, who dares to bet on his talent for table tennis and doggedly pursue a world championship. The film marks the second feature collaboration between Khondji and Safdie, following their work together on the 2019 crime thriller Uncut Gems.

Conversation Highlights

Khondji's conversation with Crudo explores a range of strategies, as well as the creative and practical challenges he encountered, including:

• His reliance on the painterly qualities afforded by shooting on film
• Collaborating closely with production designer Jack Fisk to help craft the film's lived-in spaces
• Balancing tungsten and LED sources to light the film with naturalistic warmth
• His conscientious resistance to over-processed digital grading
• How he created a tactile, textured 1950s world with the use of long anamorphic lenses and an approach rooted in "poor-light" realism

Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC is a cinematographer whose credits include the features Delicatessen (1991); Se7en (1995); Evita (1996); The Beach (2000); Amour (2012); The Immigrant (2013); Okja (2017); Uncut Gems (2019); Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (2022); and Mickey 17 (2025).

Richard Crudo, ASC is a cinematographer whose credits include the features American Pie, American Buffalo, Dirty People and Jane the Virgin and the series Justified.

You’ll find all episodes in our ASC Clubhouse Conversations discussion series here.

Images courtesy of A24.