Biography
Charles Burnett is an American film director, 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.
Awards & recognition
- Academy Honorary Award · 2018
- Independent Spirit Award — Best Director · 1991
- Independent Spirit Award — Best Screenplay · 1991
- Maya Deren Award · 1991
- National Society of Film Critics Award — Best Screenplay · 1990
Show all 11 awards →
- MacArthur Fellows Program · 1988
- Guggenheim Fellowship · 1980
- Distinguished Service Order
- Independent Spirit Award — Best Screenplay · 1991 · nominated
- Independent Spirit Award — Best Director · 1991 · nominated
- National Society of Film Critics Award — Best Screenplay · 1990 · nominated
Filmography18 titles
Hollywood Black
A Different Image
The Story of Film: An Odyssey
These Amazing Shadows
Finding Buck McHenry
My Brother's Wedding
To Sleep with Anger
Independent Lens
Killer of Sheep
The Annihilation of Fish
Bless Their Little Hearts
Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property
Is That Black Enough for You?!?
When It Rains
The Pocketbook
Quiet as Kept
The Glass Shield
The Final Insult