Charles Burnett's MY BROTHER'S WEDDING (`'83)– introduction by Maya S. Cade

Unfinished and unreleased for nearly 25 years, MY BROTHER’S WEDDING (1983) is a brilliant, underseen gem of American neorealism that stands as an incredible portrait of South Central LA and its characters' everyday hopes, dreams, and dilemmas. As part of YesterdayLA, the Philosophical Research Society’s monthlong exploration of Los Angeles history, 7th House Screenings is proud to present Charles Burnett’s fantastic and long unseen second feature film.

The follow up to his acclaimed 1978 debut KILLER OF SHEEP – one of the greatest Los Angeles films, which garnered praise (...though not distribution) for the director and established the UCLA-born LA Rebellion movement of Black filmmakers as a new, singular cinematic force – Burnett devoted many long months of shooting before sending a rough-cut of his sophomore outing to his producers. Ignoring his request to finish the editing of the film, the producers rushed it to a New York festival screening, where it received a mixed review from the New York Times. With distributors scared off, My Brother's Wedding was tragically never released. Film critic Armond White called this “a catastrophic blow to the development of American popular culture.”

Nearly 25 years later, Burnett was able to complete editing of the film, achieving his original vision, and the result was a tender and affecting tragicomic treasure, ready to finally receive the attention and praise it always deserved. Now, following a beautiful restoration by the Pacific Film Archive, My Brother's Wedding is an eye-opening revelation—it is wise, funny, heartbreaking and timeless.

The film centers around Pierce Mundy, who works at his parents' South Central dry cleaners with no prospects for the future and his childhood buddies in prison or dead. With his best friend just getting out of jail and his brother busy planning a wedding to a snooty upper-middle-class black woman, Pierce navigates his conflicting obligations while trying to figure out what he really wants in life.

For this special presentation of this underscreened and underseen jewel of Los Angeles cinema, 7th House is proud to welcome Maya S. Cade, the creator and curator of Black Film Archive – and incoming president/owner of Milestone Films, the distribution company that made the film’s completion and release a reality – for an introduction to discuss Burnett and the film’s importance, troubled history, and legacy.