Killer of Sheep (1978)

This film is also showing at our sister cinema, Lido Cinemas

New South Wales and Victorian Premiere's- 4K Restoration

‘[Killer of Sheep’s] tone is gentle, the style uncoercive, but the movie’s cumulative emotional force astonishes. The scenes seem to have been caught on the fly yet they linger in the memory as if engraved there. It’s a poem that feels like a documentary, and one of the saddest, happiest movies imaginable.’ – Nelson Kim, Senses of Cinema

As children play freely in abandoned railyards and apartment blocks nearby, depressed slaughterhouse worker Stan (Henry G. Sanders), his wife (Kaycee Moore) and their two young children eke out a precarious existence in an impoverished neighbourhood in southern Los Angeles. Despite daily frustrations and little hope for a better future, moments of beauty seep in through the cracks.

Featuring a mostly non-professional cast and shot entirely on location, Charles Burnett’s poetic, free-flowing vision of Black working-class life in the 1970s was a landmark in the development of African-American cinema, and remains one of the greatest independent films ever produced in the United States – as recognised in its top 50 placement in the 2022 Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time world critics’ poll.

Introduced by Rob Hughes at Ritz Cinemas and Lido Cinemas.

This program will also screen David Greig’s AFI Award-winning experimental short film Return (1972, Australia, 6 mins)

Rating

M

Duration

80 min

Country

United States

Language

English

Cast

Henry G. Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy, Angela Burnett, Eugene Cherry, Jack Drummond

Director

Charles Burnett