Charles Burnett is an unsung master of American cinema who led the way for black independent filmmakers to tell their stories on-screen with poetic-realist revelations like KILLER OF SHEEP and TO SLEEP WITH ANGER. In this original documentary, Burnett joins another trailblazing African American director, Robert Townsend (HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE), for a stroll through the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles where Burnett grew up. As they visit key locations from his life and films, Burnett reflects on the impact the neighborhood has had on his art, the process of making his enormously influential films, and what it means for him to tell stories that center people of color.
Up Next in Directed by Charles Burnett
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To Sleep with Anger
Directed by Charles Burnett • 1990 • United States
A slow-burning masterwork of the early 1990s, this third feature by Charles Burnett is a singular piece of American mythmaking. In a towering performance, Danny Glover plays the enigmatic southern drifter Harry, a devilish charmer who turns up o...
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The Annihilation of Fish
Directed by Charles Burnett • 1999 • United States
Starring James Earl Jones, Lynn Redgrave, Margot KidderVirtually unseen for years only to reemerge as a lost gem of American independent cinema, this surprising, ineffably tender romantic comedy from master director Charles Burnett (KILLER OF S...
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The Glass Shield
Directed by Charles Burnett • 1994 • United States
Starring Michael Boatman, Lori Petty, Ice CubeCharles Burnett’s powerful police drama follows J. J. Johnson (Michael Boatman), an idealistic rookie cop and the only Black officer in an all-white precinct, as he confronts racism and corruption w...
