Charles Burnett ’69, M.F.A. ’77

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Independence can be a risky attribute in the film industry, but convention has never kept Charles Burnett from making films is own way. For more than 20 years, Charles has labored under the leanest of budgets to produce movies marked by uncommon vision and artistic integrity. His efforts have been rewarded with critical acclaim, financial support and a succession of prizes and awards at international film festivals.

Best-known as the writer and director of the celebrated 1990 film “To Sleep with Anger,” named by many leading critics as one of the year’s ten best movies, Charles grew up in South-Central Los Angeles, a setting that often reappears in his work. Consistently invoking the richness and complexity of African-American culture, he draws on contemporary urban life, myth and folklore to create finely tuned films remarkable for their humanity and sensitivity to nuance.

The artistry evident in such films as “Several Friends” (1969); “The Horse (1973); and his 1977 thesis film “Killer of Sheep,” which won a Critic’s Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, earned him a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1981. Following “My Brother’s Wedding” (1984), he was awarded a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts.

A uniquely inventive force in contemporary American cinema, Charles Burnett imparts a special luster to the university where he began his distinguished career. It is only fitting that the Alumni Association reflects some of that eminence back on him with an award for Professional Achievement.