Grace and Peace Blogs

KILLER OF SHEEP
SATURDAY, May 25 at 6:30 PM in the Gallery
Directed by Charles Burnett.
Starring Henry G. Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles
Bracy
Unrated (Likely PG). 83 minutes, black & white.
1979.
The last three weekends in May, ZekeFilm
teams with Sylvester Jacobs of Adullam to present a
series of three very different films, each with a
unique look at African-American life. The films span
from the early days of cinema to just last year; from
unblinking realism to stylized adventure. Taken
together, the connections may be surprising and the
diversity refreshing. The middle film is black
independent filmmaker Charles Burnett's
masterpiece, KILLER OF SHEEP. Although never given
a proper commercial release, SHEEP has been
recognized many times over for its lyricism,
craftsmanship and beauty in its grainy depiction of
everyday urban life. Before being restored just a few
years ago, it was ushered onto the National Film
Registry in 1990, and prior to that, won a New
Cinema award at the 1981 Berlin Film Festival.
Simply put, KILLER OF SHEEP may be the greatest
film you've never heard of.