Conversations with Darius Khondji — Jordan Mintzer (Synecdoche, 2018)

Conversations with Darius Khondji is an essential document for anyone invested in the visual language of cinema. In this large-format, bilingual volume, cinematographer Darius Khondji reflects on a fifty-year journey through film, shaped by intimate collaborations with directors from David Fincher to Wong Kar-wai, Michael Haneke to James Gray. Structured as a series of in-depth interviews with journalist Jordan Mintzer, the book offers a rare view from behind the camera — where light, grain, shadow, and instinct come together to define atmosphere.

Khondji speaks with the clarity of a technician and the intuition of an artist. His recollections move between Hollywood and European arthouse, revealing the visual strategies behind Se7en, Delicatessen, Midnight in Paris, and Okja. He discusses lighting as narrative, the materiality of film stock, and the psychological impact of composition. With a foreword by Michel Ciment and afterword by Nicolas Winding Refn, the book situates Khondji at the crossroads of craft and vision.

Beautifully printed on uncoated Munken Kristall paper and richly illustrated with over 400 colour images, this 304-page edition is a rare monograph that treats cinematography as both philosophy and design. It belongs in Darwin as a visual manual and a long-form conversation on what it means to see.

Technical Sheet

Title: Conversations with Darius Khondji
Artist / Author: Darius Khondji, Jordan Mintzer
Date: 2018
Technique / Printing Method: Offset
Medium / Materials: Hardcover, printed wraparound band
Dimensions (cm): 21 x 28
Language: English / French
Pages: 304
Publisher / Editor: Synecdoche
ISBN: Not stated
Condition: NEW