Writer-director Carmen Emmi’s award-winning debut feature, Plainclothes, starring Tom Blyth, Russell Tovey, Maria Dizzia and Amy Forsyth, premiered at Sundance in 2025, was released theatrically by Magnolia and is out now on digital. Set in 1997, the film follows a promising undercover officer assigned to entrap gay men, who defies professional orders when he falls in love with one of his targets. Emmi is a filmmaker with deep roots in Syracuse, New York, where he grew up in a family of farmers. After graduating from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Carmen began his career as an independent Director of Photography, contributing to a range of projects, including short films, commercials, and feature-length productions. (Photo by Lindsy Avritch.)
