[Editor’s note: As a companion piece to Jennifer Trafton’s essay this morning on the magic of Mary Poppins, here’s a conversation about the craft of scoring films with Emile Mosseri, known most recently for his work on Minari and The Last Black Man in San Francisco.]
At this point, Emile Mosseri has every reason to avoid what “terrifies” him. As the Oscar-nominated composer for Minari along with myriad other projects—including The Last Black Man in San Francisco, season two of Homecoming, and Kajillionaire—Mosseri is undoubtedly going to become a go-to composer, an artist for whom work will come calling to fill his time and consume his energy.
But Emile says that’s not quite enough. That’s not to say he’s ungrateful for the work or humbled by the process. The opposite is true. However, there’s also an internal drive, pushing him to create something deeply personal—something all his own.
On this episode of The Resistance, we spoke with Emile to hear more about the devastating beauty of Minari, his journey to becoming a composer, and the tension of working toward someone else’s creative vision versus his own.
P.S. In case you missed it, click here to read Jennifer Trafton’s beautiful reflection on the magic of film in Mary Poppins Returns and what it can teach us about freedom, imagination, and the human longing to reclaim playfulness.