Please note: This was screened in
“My Brother’s Wedding exhibits wisdom, poise, and poetry of Black life that feels almost like a dream. Burnett’s gift of craft displayed here became the beacon that awakened a new generation of Black filmgoers and filmmakers." - Black Film Archive founder and Milestones Film President Maya Cade
Charles Burnett’s second feature (the follow-up to Killer of Sheep) is a revelation - funny, heartbreaking, and now ripe for rediscovery in a brand-new restoration.
Set in 80’s LA, it centres on the young and proudly working-class Pierce Mundy (Everett Silas), who works his folks’ South Central dry cleaners, with limited future prospects. His best friend’s release from prison and his brother’s impending wedding to an upper-middle-class woman he despises bring things to a head.
This tale of a man caught between loyalties and the perils of upward mobility provides a compassionate, humanist counterpoint to the “hood” films that would follow.
The film was originally released in a rough-cut form in 1983, and notoriously difficult to find until its first restoration and re-edit by Burnett in 2007. This latest restoration continues the effort to honour Burnett's artistic vision.
A new 4K restoration by Prasab lab (Chennai) including frame-by-frame image repair, colour correction and digital mastering, in collaboration with Milestone Films, UCLA Film & Television Archive, and Kino Lorber.