Made in the mid-1970s, but virtually unseen until 2000, Charles Burnett's lost masterpiece is a poetic and immersive look at life for ordinary black Americans in the deprived area of Watts, Los Angeles. Downtrodden hero Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders) works in an abattoir, and the unremitting grind of his existence leaves him largely numb to the world around him, including his adoring wife (Kaycee Moore) and two children. This is an African-American art house film, in direct opposition to the Blaxploitation movies of the era, and Burnett eschews a traditional narrative. Instead, he shows snatched glimpses of life - boys playing at war, Stan and his wife dancing in their living room - that fly in the face of the inescapable poverty and hopelessness surrounding them. The style and performances are naturalistic, but things are often viewed through the frame of a doorway or a window, keeping the observer one step removed. Killer of Sheep is quiet and reflective, with moments of violence, high passion and humour, just like real life.

An African-American man working at a slaughterhouse in the Watts area of Los Angeles leads a dissatisfied and listless existence.