Burke Roberts grew up on a cattle ranch in Colorado. The opposite of an urban cowboy; he was a rural punk. He found himself fighting the tide in Hollywood by eighteen, and quickly decided he was not interested in conforming - or auditioning - for the mainstream. ....a novel idea in the city of (stra)ngels. Enduring endless naysayers, he triumphantly created very high production value short films on impossible shoestring budgets. In the current explosion of guerilla film, Roberts could even be considered oldschool - pioneering unique underground films in Los Angeles years before pro-sumer equipment brought D.I.Y. filmmaking to the masses. To do this, he founded Bizzurke Army: an ever-expanding network encompassing hundreds of artists and technicians, who devote their time and talents to bringing his films to fruition. His first film JESUS RIDES SHOTGUN debuted at Cannes film festival and from there Roberts gained an international cult momentum.
In the past decade, he has created an impressive assortment of 35mm and 16mm films - such as Handicap City, FUCK FASHION, Echo of a Man, and Insult to Injury. These works have screened at independent theatres, fine art galleries and festivals from L.A. to New York, London to Berlin, and dozens of cities in-between. His films deal with challenging and political themes such as oppression, fanaticism and insanity - both personal and societal. .
After years of touring European venues he decided that it is time for Americas screening opportunities to evolve.
The new generation of cinematic artists, who strive to create personal work, must rise to create forums in which they are not subject to the formulas or rhetoric that come with the narrow industry as it stands.
And so, his passion became The Engine; a mobile projection system which is a piece of art in itself. In the same way that independent bands tour - now too must films. This is yet another pioneering step for Roberts who maintains the belief that: The movie business cannot be changed.. it is better to perpetuate the growth of a powerful underground - to rival it.
