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My Brother’s Wedding

Forum Special 2026
© 1983 Charles Burnett Productions. Courtesy of Milestone Films.
South Central L.A., the beginning of the 1980s. Pierce Mundy is always on the move, but without ever really getting anywhere. The young man is kept busy – by his parents, their tailor’s shop, friends and neighbours. Together with Soldier, who is about to be released from prison, he is the last remaining member of their friendship circle. Unlike his brother, who is going to marry a lawyer, Pierce is entirely lacking in ambition, which drives especially his mother mad. And yet Pierce is an integral part of life in the neighbourhood. It is his brother’s rapidly approaching wedding that starts posing existential questions for him. Charles Burnett’s second feature following Killer of Sheep is of a much lighter tone; the setting is saturated with reality, albeit without entering the realm of documentary. In the various encounters and during Pierce’s wanderings, a portrait of a young man and a community defined in equal measure by stagnation, resignation, resistance and joie de vivre is formed in parallel. Lived realities are shown in even the smallest of supporting roles, complex and attentive. A classic of New Black Cinema and a cornerstone of Forum history showing in a new restoration.
by Charles Burnett (Director, Screenplay)
with Everette Silas, Jessie Holmes, Gaye Shannon-Burnett, Ronald E. Bell, Dennis Kemper, Sally Easter, Hobert Durham Jr., Angela Burnett, Tim Wright, Cora Lee Davis, Monte Easter, Frances E. Nealy, Sy Richardson, Garnett Hargrave, Margarita Rodriguez, Jackie Hargrave, Lynda Gypcy Lewis, Denise Elliott, Ross Harris, Julie Bolton, Charles Bracy, Stacey Evans, Nate Hardman, Debbie Williams, Henry G. Sanders, Helena Springs, Lucious Walker USA / Germany 1983-2007 English 81' Colour World premiere of the digitally restored version

With

  • Everette Silas
  • Jessie Holmes
  • Gaye Shannon-Burnett
  • Ronald E. Bell
  • Dennis Kemper
  • Sally Easter
  • Hobert Durham Jr.
  • Angela Burnett
  • Tim Wright
  • Cora Lee Davis
  • Monte Easter
  • Frances E. Nealy
  • Sy Richardson
  • Garnett Hargrave
  • Margarita Rodriguez
  • Jackie Hargrave
  • Lynda Gypcy Lewis
  • Denise Elliott
  • Ross Harris
  • Julie Bolton
  • Charles Bracy
  • Stacey Evans
  • Nate Hardman
  • Debbie Williams
  • Henry G. Sanders
  • Helena Springs
  • Lucious Walker

Crew

Director Charles Burnett
Screenplay Charles Burnett
Cinematography Charles Burnett
Editing Thomas M. Penick, Charles Burnett
Sound Design Veda Campbell
Production Design Penny Barrett
Costumes Gaye Shannon-Burnett
Make-Up Clifton Johnson
Casting Garnett Hargrave
Producers Charles Burnett, Gaye Shannon-Burnett
Executive Producer Gaye Shannon-Burnett

Produced by

Charles Burnett Productions

Los Angeles, USA

Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)

Mainz, Federal Republic of Germany

World Sales

Kino Lorber

New York, USA

Additional information

Restoration: Milestone Films in collaboration with UCLA Film & Television Archive; Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive

Photos

Charles Burnett

© Everard Williams

Born in Mississippi in 1944 and raised in Watts, Los Angeles, Charles Burnett is a central figure of the L.A. Rebellion film movement. He gained acclaim for realistic portrayals of African American life, starting with his UCLA thesis film Killer of Sheep (1978) and My Brother’s Wedding (1983). His films Killer of Sheep and To Sleep with Anger (1990) are both on the National Film Registry. He received an honorary Oscar in 2017 for his influential career in independent cinema, documentaries, and television. His 1999 film, The Annihilation of Fish, finally premiered in 2025 to rave reviews.

Filmography

1977 Killer of Sheep; Berlinale Forum 1981 1983 My Brother's Wedding 1990 To Sleep with Anger 1996 Nightjohn 1997 The Final Insult 1999 The Annihilation of Fish · Selma, Lord, Selma 2007 Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation · My Brother's Wedding; Director’s Cut, Berlinale Forum 2008

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026