Charles Burnett Video | Clips from Films Directed and Interviews

Charles Burnett (April 13, 1944, Vicksburg, Mississippi) is an African-American film director, film producer, writer, editor, actor, photographer, and cinematographer. His most popular films include Killer of Sheep (1977), My Brother's Wedding (1983), To Sleep with Anger (1990), The Glass Shield (1994), and Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation (2007) He has been involved in other types of motion pictures including shorts, documentaries, and a TV series. Considered by the Chicago Tribune as "one of America's very best filmmakers", and by the New York Times as "the nation's least-known great... MORE

Charles Burnett (April 13, 1944, Vicksburg, Mississippi) is an African-American film director, film producer, writer, editor, actor, photographer, and cinematographer. His most popular films include Killer of Sheep (1977), My Brother's Wedding (1983), To Sleep with Anger (1990), The Glass Shield (1994), and Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation (2007) He has been involved in other types of motion pictures including shorts, documentaries, and a TV series. Considered by the Chicago Tribune as "one of America's very best filmmakers", and by the New York Times as "the nation's least-known great filmmaker and most gifted black director", Charles Burnett has had a long and diverse filmmaking career. Charles Burnett was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on April 13, 1944 to a nurse's aide and a military father. In 1947, Charles's family moved to Watts, a largely black neighborhood in South Los Angeles. Although Burnett was interested in expressing himself through art from a young age, the economic pressure to maintain a stable job initially kept him from pursuing film or art in college. The neighborhood of Watts had a significant impact on the life and the work of Charles Burnett. The LESS