An interview with Charles Burnett

Written by Irenosen Iseghohi-Okojie
Thursday, 03 July 2008 00:00

Film - North America

As the seminal Killer of Sheep is finally given theatre release nearly 31 years after it was made, Seven Magazine interviews director Charles Burnett about his cinematic masterpiece.

 Why did you take the film course at UCLA?

It was in the 60s that I started at UCLA’s film program. 

During the 60s, it was normal for a person who was concerned with what was going on in the USA, for example, Civil Rights, the war and a whole host of other issues, to use art to express themselves.

UCLA was the perfect place for me to do that because it was a great film school and most importantly, it was very affordable. It was great place to study film because the students were from all over the world. You got different perspectives on film.

How difficult was it to get Killer of Sheep made?

It wasn’t difficult at all. It was a student film, and because it was done at UCLA, you were provided with cameras and all sorts of equipment to make the film for free. Editing rooms were there and at the time, the cost of film and lab work was relatively cheap. I was working with most people with no acting experience. We shot on the weekends. It was a very casual shooting schedule.

Did you feel at the time you were making Killer of Sheep that it would go on to become so successful/critically acclaimed?

No, the film was not made for a theatrical release or for a general audience. The audience for the film was community activists who would use the film as a means to debate what is needed in areas like Watts, USA.

Which filmmakers have inspired and influenced your own work?

Joris Ivens, Basil Wright, Jean Vigo and Vittorio De Sica and then later on Ousmane Sembene, were all very important to my approach to vision and style. It wasn’t so much that I was looking for a style but for a reason to make films.

Do you think things have got easier for black filmmakers in the industry since your first film came out?

In getting behind the camera it has gotten easier. There are diversity programs that some of the studios offer to encourage women and people of colour to come in under a program that will allow you access to people in the industry that could hire you as a director or a writer. That didn’t exist when I was in film school.

The real question is, are you able to tell a real story about people of colour? You can make a film about what ever you like with a certain budget, but will it get distribution? There is too much competition for space and time. There has to be a different method of getting your work to an audience and build and audience for special films that makes it viable to make a living and pay people.

Which other films do you think portray a realistic representation of African-American life?

There are many layers to the African-American life. It will take a number of films to give a picture of the black experience. Some black directors have done well in giving us a slice of life. You can mention films by Oscar Micheaux, Bill Greaves, Julie Dash, Haile Gerima, and Spike Lee to name a few. There are a lot more.

How do you feel about the fact that Martin Scorcese and Steven Soderbergh are fans of yours?

I’m a fan of those guys and obviously very pleased that they lent their support to helping getting the film released. Everything helps in this business.

Why did it take so long to clear the soundtrack rights?

The film was made for my Thesis Project and there was not a need to clear the musical rights if you had no intention of getting a theatrical showing. So I never had a need to clear the musical rights.

It was not until Milestone Films was interested in Distributing the film that the music rights became an issue. It took Milestone a lot of time and money to secure all of the rights which I’m thankful for.

You worked with Danny Glover on another critically acclaimed film, To Sleep With Anger. What was it like to work with him?

Working with actors like Danny and Carl and the rest of the cast was a great pleasure.

Danny is very good to work with. He comes prepared. He makes good choices. He makes the whole experience creative.

What projects are you currently working on now?

I just finished shooting a film in Namibia about the liberation movement of Namibia under SWAPO. The film is called Namibia- The Struggle for Liberation.

There is a script that I have hat is based on a Chester Himes’ novel that we are getting the finances together for.

Which young African-American directors do you see as the future of cinema? 

That is hard to say because there are a lot on the horizon and some that I’m not familiar with.

Is Barack Obama the future for America?

The future of America is when we have more than two parties to choose from.