Killer Of Sheep (1978) - 4K RestorationKiller Of Sheep (1978) - 4K Restoration

Charles Burnett follows Stan, a slaughterhouse worker in Watts, Los Angeles, and his family through everyday scenes at home and in the neighbourhood.

Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep centres on Stan (Henry Gale Sanders), who has a job at a slaughterhouse; he and his family make their home in Watts, Los Angeles. He returns home exhausted after a long working day. He tries to keep his spirits up, as does his wife (Kaycee Moore). The film follows the household and the people around them in loosely linked scenes: friends drop by, children play in the street and neighbours stop to talk. Burnett shot the film on 16mm as a graduation project at UCLA. Its soundtrack uses music by Etta James, Earth, Wind & Fire and Dinah Washington, alongside pieces by Gershwin and Rachmaninov. Music rights at first prevented an official release; in 2007 UCLA restored the film.

Story written by Evenitto from the film catalogue