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"Killer of Sheep", shot in 1977 with a cast of non-professional actors on a budget of less than 10,000 dollars, depicts the life of an LA slaughterhouse worker, his marriage, family and neighbours, sleepless nights, and alienating job.
Described by some as one of the finest films in US history, in 1990 it was selected to the National film registry of the Library of Congress but waited three decades before being shown in theatres across the United States.
"Because it was a student film, it wasn't supposed to be theatrically released," said Burnett.
"It was a time when you had the civil rights movement, people were fighting for their space in history. They wanted to see black people presented as human beings.
"Most of us came into film with that purpose, to tell our own stories and counter the sort of negative images that Hollywood has produced," said Burnett, who was one of a few privileged blacks in the 1960s who had access to a college education.
"Killer of Sheep" was screened at communities, churches and colleges before reaching Europe where it scooped a prize at the 1981 Berlin film festival. More years went by before the 2007 release of a restored copy by Milestone Films, aided by directors Steven Soderbergh and Martin Scorcese.
Four of his films were screened at the Manosque festival, all human-scaled tales of African-American life.
"My Brother's Wedding" (1983) is a comedy-drama about a young man on the verge of adulthood torn between his brother and his petty criminal friend. The movie was made thanks to a grant following "Killer of Sheep".
"To Sleep with Anger", released in 1990, was shot on a bigger budget due to the presence of actor Danny Glover and was shown at Cannes' Critics' Week.
After a screening of that movie, he said, "a lady said to me 'I didn't know black people had washing machines', and I said 'I beg your pardon' and then someone else said 'Where are the drugs, you know?'".
His 2003 film "Warming by the Devil's Fire" is a bluesy tale exploring his own past between Mississippi where he was born in 1944, and Los Angeles where he grew up in the ghetto of Watts.
"Good films are hard to make. It's hard to get financing for. It's difficult everywhere to be an independent film-maker, in the States, in France, in Argentina", said Burnett, who has been struggling for years to find funding for an adaptation of a Chester Himes story.
Asked whether Hollywood movies still offered a distorted image of the life of US blacks, Burnett said: "For the most part yes."
"You have perhaps a lot more actors and a lot of new directors who are black and people of colour. But they're still telling stories that Hollywood wants made."
Like millions of other African-Americans, the film-maker welcomed Barack Obama's election as "a good step" while adding that "America has a long way to go."
"It has changed people, it has changed little kids particularly," he said. "These black kids got motivated and before they weren't so interested in achievement."
"At the same time, there's like 2.5 million people in prisons in the States and a huge proportion of that are black people. A huge proportion of homeless people too are blacks."
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Image of US filmmaker Charles Burnett on February 3, in Manosque, southern France, during the 22nd edition of the Rencontres de Cinema festival; by Anne-Christine Poujoulat.
Described by some as one of the finest films in US history, in 1990 it was selected to the National film registry of the Library of Congress but waited three decades before being shown in theatres across the United States.
"Because it was a student film, it wasn't supposed to be theatrically released," said Burnett.
"It was a time when you had the civil rights movement, people were fighting for their space in history. They wanted to see black people presented as human beings.
"Most of us came into film with that purpose, to tell our own stories and counter the sort of negative images that Hollywood has produced," said Burnett, who was one of a few privileged blacks in the 1960s who had access to a college education.
"Killer of Sheep" was screened at communities, churches and colleges before reaching Europe where it scooped a prize at the 1981 Berlin film festival. More years went by before the 2007 release of a restored copy by Milestone Films, aided by directors Steven Soderbergh and Martin Scorcese.
Four of his films were screened at the Manosque festival, all human-scaled tales of African-American life.
"My Brother's Wedding" (1983) is a comedy-drama about a young man on the verge of adulthood torn between his brother and his petty criminal friend. The movie was made thanks to a grant following "Killer of Sheep".
"To Sleep with Anger", released in 1990, was shot on a bigger budget due to the presence of actor Danny Glover and was shown at Cannes' Critics' Week.
After a screening of that movie, he said, "a lady said to me 'I didn't know black people had washing machines', and I said 'I beg your pardon' and then someone else said 'Where are the drugs, you know?'".
His 2003 film "Warming by the Devil's Fire" is a bluesy tale exploring his own past between Mississippi where he was born in 1944, and Los Angeles where he grew up in the ghetto of Watts.
"Good films are hard to make. It's hard to get financing for. It's difficult everywhere to be an independent film-maker, in the States, in France, in Argentina", said Burnett, who has been struggling for years to find funding for an adaptation of a Chester Himes story.
Asked whether Hollywood movies still offered a distorted image of the life of US blacks, Burnett said: "For the most part yes."
"You have perhaps a lot more actors and a lot of new directors who are black and people of colour. But they're still telling stories that Hollywood wants made."
Like millions of other African-Americans, the film-maker welcomed Barack Obama's election as "a good step" while adding that "America has a long way to go."
"It has changed people, it has changed little kids particularly," he said. "These black kids got motivated and before they weren't so interested in achievement."
"At the same time, there's like 2.5 million people in prisons in the States and a huge proportion of that are black people. A huge proportion of homeless people too are blacks."
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Image of US filmmaker Charles Burnett on February 3, in Manosque, southern France, during the 22nd edition of the Rencontres de Cinema festival; by Anne-Christine Poujoulat.
