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Burning Cane

US Narrative Competition

World Premiere

USA | 78 MINUTES | English |

BURNING CANE

Women, Drama
A worried mother (Karen Kaia Livers) caring for her mange-ridden family dog; her unemployed, alcoholic son (Dominique McClellan) and the wife (Emyri Crutchfield) who supports him; and a preacher (Wendell Pierce) whose wife’s recent death has pushed him toward the bottle are a few of the characters who make up the beautifully rich world of Southeastern Louisiana in Phillip Youmans’ extraordinary debut feature, Burning Cane. The poetic lyricism of the film’s handheld camerawork calls to mind a Terrence Malick-like interest in the influence of place on the people who inhabit it, and how deeply the beauty of the natural world can contrast with the brutality of human acts. As one of the principal embodiments of this contradiction, Pierce gives a powerful performance as the preacher who is struggling to both help his flock as well as himself.

Youmans imbues his film about a group of flawed individuals with a soulful empathy that belies his age. (He was finishing the film around the same time as he was finishing high school.) Burning Cane, executive produced by Benh Zeitlin, signals him as a director to watch.

—Jason Gutierrez

CAST & CREDITS

Directed by Phillip Youmans

Phillip Youmans is a New Orleans-born filmmaker based in New York City. His latest short film, Nairobi, made with Solange Knowles’ creative agency Saint Heron, and his latest documentary about Jon Batiste and the Stay Human band, will premiere this year. Burning Cane, starring Wendell Pierce, is Phillip's feature-length debut.
Director
Phillip Youmans
Producer
Wendell Pierce, Mose Mayer, Ojo Akinlana, Karen Kaia Livers, Cassandra Youmans, Phillip Youmans
Screenwriter
Phillip Youmans
Cinematographer
Phillip Youmans
Editor
Phillip Youmans, Ruby Kline
Executive Producer
Benh Zeitlin
Co-Producer
Isaac Webb, Jakob Johnson
Cast
Wendell Pierce, Karen Kaia Livers, Dominique McClellan, Braelyn Kelly

CONTACTS

International Sales Contact
Rebecca Wyzan
Untitled Entertainment
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 203 499 7908
rw@untitledent.net
Print Source
Rebecca Wyzan
Untitled Entertainment
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 203 499 7908
rw@untitledent.net
US Sales Contact
Rebecca Wyzan
Untitled Entertainment
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 203 499 7908
rw@untitledent.net
Press Contact
Susan Norget
Susan Norget Film Promotion
New York, NY 10010
Phone: 917-833-3056
susan@norget.com