Noted film director Charles Burnett will introduce To Sleep with Anger, his 1990 film that won critical acclaim, and answer audience questions on Saturday, March 20, in the Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House. A showing of Burnett's latest film, Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property (2002), will take place Wednesday, March 17, at the University of Rochester.
Since the late 1960s, Burnett has been making highly distinguished films about the experiences of African Americans. They have been shown at festivals throughout the world, and have received several prestigious awards. His works include two well-respected films that have been designated as "national treasures" by the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress: Killer of Sheep (1977) and To Sleep with Anger.
To Sleep with Anger deals with a middle-class, urban family forced to confront the secrets and issues of their relationships when a guest, played by actor Danny Glover, arrives from their past. The character-driven narrative is known for its unconventional representation of African Americans in South Central Los Angeles.
Burnett's appearance and the film showings in Rochester are sponsored by the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies and the Film and Media Studies Program at the University of Rochester, and George Eastman House.
The March 17 film about Nat Turner, a Virginia slave who led a rebellion against local slave owners, will be shown at 5:30 p.m. in Hoyt Hall on the University's River Campus. It is free and open to the public.
To Sleep with Anger will be screened at 8 p.m. March 20 in the Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House, 900 East Ave. Admission is free for University of Rochester students, faculty, and staff with identification; $8 for the general public; $6 for George Eastman House members, and students at the door.
For more information, contact the Frederick Douglass Institute at (585) 275-7235.