Killer of Sheep
UW Cinematheque 821 University Ave., UW Vilas Hall, Room 4070, Madison, Wisconsin
press release:
USA | 1978 | DCP | 80 min.
Director: Charles Burnett, Cast: Henry G. Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy
The life of a working class family affected by unemployment in the Watts district of Los Angeles is poetically evoked by writer/director Burnett in his feature debut. A landmark in American independent filmmaking, Burnett’s lyrical, elliptical style is marked by a frequently perfect matching of music to his haunting images. One of the first films elected to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry, Killer of Sheep will be shown from a stunning new 4K restoration.
One of American indie cinema’s universally acknowledged masters, Charles Burnett trained to be a filmmaker at UCLA in the 1960s, as an early part of a movement later dubbed “The L.A Rebellion”. Burnett, whose career has included shorts, independent features, and documentaries for both Hollywood and TV, has left a varied legacy that engage with class, gender, and black identity in America. Burnett has been most celebrated for exploring the domestic lives of families in contemporary L.A., particularly in his 1978 feature debut Killer of Sheep and his 1990 drama To Sleep With Anger, which Burnett will personally present and discuss on September 22. Both movies will be shown in new restorations along with fellow L.A. Rebellion member Billy Woodberry’s Bless Their Little Hearts (1983), featuring a screenplay by Burnett. "[Burnett’s] films don’t dictate to the viewer, and that troubles them” (bell hooks). Co-Presented with the support of Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Distinguished Lecture Series. Special Thanks to Vincent Mollica, James LaPierre and Ziyad Sultan.
All Cinematheque screenings are free and open to the public.