Cinema Rediscovered: Killer of Sheep

Charles Burnett’s (The Annihilation of Fish) pioneering account of blue-collar existence paved the way for African American representation on the big screen.

Burnett’s directorial debut centres on Stan (Henry G. Sanders), a south-central Los Angeles slaughterhouse worker who is looking to provide for his family. However, Stan’s occupation is a grisly business and the stench of decay that surrounds him is reflected in the brutal disparities that inform contemporary African American life. As Stan becomes increasingly alienated from his family and wider society, he begins to question his existence.

Burnett’s 1977 opus is the product of a genuine auteur: he wrote, directed, produced, shot, and edited Killer of Sheep as his UCLA thesis film. The U.S. Library of Congress selected the film as one of the first fifty films on the National Film Registry in 1990, and the National Society of Film Critics selected it as one of the "100 Essential Films" of all time in 2002.

You may also like the following events from Queen's Film Theatre, Belfast:

• This Wednesday, 20th August, 06:00 pm, David Lynch: The Straight Story (35mm) in Belfast
• This Thursday, 21st August, 03:00 pm, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai in Belfast
• This Thursday, 21st August, 08:45 pm, David Lynch: The Straight Story (35mm) in Belfast

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