Burt (film)

Burt is a 2025 American comedy-drama film directed by Joe Burke and starring Oliver Cooper, Burt Berger, Steven Levy, and Catlin Adams. Produced by Burke and Cooper and executive produced by David Gordon Green, Berger portrays a fictionalized version of himself, a 69-year-old musician with Parkinson's disease who finds out he has a son named Sammy (Cooper).^[1] The film is shot in black-and-white.^[2]

Burt
Official poster
Directed by	Joe Burke
Written by	Joe Burke Oliver Cooper
Produced by	Joe Burke Oliver Cooper
Starring	Oliver Cooper Burt Berger Steven Levy Catlin Adams
Cinematography	Daniel Kenji Levin
Edited by	Joe Burke
Music by	Tim Rutili
Production companies	The Juice is Loose Floating Rock Pictures
Release date	March 16, 2025 (2025-03-16) (CFF)
Running time	77 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$7,000

Burt premiered at the Cinequest Film Festival on March 16, 2025.^[3]

Premise

Burt, a 69-year-old street musician living with Parkinson's disease, meets Sammy, a wayward young man from New York who shows up claiming to be his son. Having always dreamed of being a father, Burt embraces Sammy and invites him to stay for the weekend at his home, where he lives with his grumpy landlord, Steve.

Cast

• Oliver Cooper as Sammy
• Burt Berger as Burt
• Steven Levy as Steve
• Catlin Adams as Sylvia
• Brenda Vaccaro as Patty Green
• Olivia Luccardi as Heide
• John Karna as Punk's Friend
• Louis Lombardi as Patty's Husband

Production

Burke and Cooper both grew up together in Sylvania, Ohio. Burt is their second collaboration on a feature film, following Four Dogs (2013).^[2]

Burke based the film off of the real-life experiences of musician Burt Berger, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself. Berger suffers from Parkinson's disease. Speaking to Metro Silicon Valley, Burke stated, "The movie is a love letter to him, his wonderful music, and to my own dad, who is also living with Parkinson’s." The film is shot in black-and-white, and filming was completed in seven days.^[4][2] The film's production budget was $7,000.^[5][6]

Release

Burt premiered at the Cinequest Film Festival on March 16, 2025.^[3] The film screened at the Phoenix Film Festival from April 4–6, 2025, and at the Florida Film Festival on April 12 and 18.^[7][2]

Reception

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film a highly positive review, calling the film a "delicate, clever character study," and praising Burke's direction.^[8]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2025	Cinequest Film Festival	Best Comedy Feature	Burt	Won	[9]
	Phoenix Film Festival	Best Picture		Won	[9]
		Best Ensemble		Won