Jackson Free Press

It is not uncommon for great directors to find a point in their career of going mad with movie-making, leaping from nuanced artistic explorations in their previous works into uncontrolled epics designed to thump grand epiphanies into collective mindsets. Restraint can be hard for directors ahead of their time. 

Writer-director Charles Burnett, deemed one of the greatest film directors of his time by IMDb, has always been ahead of his time. His first feature film, "Killer of Sheep" (1978), was one of the first 50 films inducted into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. But, unlike some filmmakers of this caliber, Burnett did not lose his personal vision to critical success. He retained his mellifluous style of filmmaking and left the tricks and gimmicks to those with expansionist temperaments. Burnett's best films slice everyday life to the dramatic core and fuse southernisms into the human condition. His films are delectable, one-of-a-kind artistic creations.

Daniel Boone, a Vicksburg native who possesses an adventurous spirit worthy of his name, discovered Burnett's work watching a "Siskel and Ebert" show years ago. "I heard them talking about (Burnett's) 'To Sleep with Anger,' and I chased it down on video," Boone says.

The National Film Registry named "To Sleep with Anger" (1990) a national treasure, and it was Burnett's first higher-budget film. The film follows the story of a lower middle-class Los Angeles family that welcomes a guest from the South. "What I liked about the film is that Danny Glover's character brings the South from back home," Boone says.

Boone didn't know at first that Burnett was born in his hometown. "Gradually I got the 'memo' that Burnett was from Vicksburg," Boone says. Boone thought it would be interesting to bring Burnett and his works back south to his birthplace. "My goal is that since I feel there is such a strong connection between Mr. Burnett and Vicksburg, that we stand to learn things about ourselves and neighbors through his art," he says. 

In 2008, Boone contacted Amy Heller at Milestone Films, a distribution company,, to get permission to do a retrospective on Burnett. "Amy did not discourage me," Boone says.

Boone slugged forward without any firm commitment. Finally, at the beginning of 2013, the project blossomed when he was able to get seed money. Boone is a film aficionado. If he were a millionaire, he would run a full-time movie theater. Instead, he does the next best thing, which is operating the swanky hip Highway 61 Coffeehouse in Vicksburg, which screened films before he partnered with Jack Burns, the head of the Westside Theatre Foundation, to show independent films at the downtown Strand Theatre.

"My motivation with the Strand in general, and this project in particular, is sharing. I can easily find and see the best films in the world. This is what I spent my time and energy pursuing. But to share these treasures makes it all so much better," Boone says.

Boone moves and shakes Vicksburg's local artistic scene with his wife, Lesley Silver, the owner of the Attic Gallery. 

This Friday through Sunday, Strand Cinema, a division of the Westside Theatre Foundation, presents a "Weekend with Charles Burnett: the Man and his Films."

Tickets range in price from $10 to $25. An all access pass is $50. Find more details at westsidetheatrefoundation.com or call 601-529-7252.