Set among the cane fields of rural Louisiana, BURNING CANE follows a deeply religious, God fearing mother struggling to reconcile her tightly-held convictions of faith with the love she has for her troubled, self-destructive son while also witnessing her dejected pastor’s decline. The intimate drama captures the complexity and complacency of family life and religion in rural Louisiana. With his spare, almost documentary filmmaking style, Phillip Youmans, who wrote, directed, photographed and edited BURNING CANE as his debut feature film, captures the daily lives of the characters and the natural beauty of the town of Laurel Valley and manages to humanize the flawed characters.

BURNING CANE is a 2019 Tribeca Film Festival Founders Award Winner for Best Narrative Feature, Best Cinematography, Best Actor (Wendell Pierce), and 2019 Venice Film Festival Official Selection.

Written, Directed, Shot, and Edited by Philllip Youmans. Produced by Wendell Pierce, Mose Mayer, Ojo Akinlana, Karen Kaia Livers, Cassandra Youmans, Phillip Youmans. Executive Produced by Benh Zeitlin, Cassandra Youmans, Phillip Youmans.

Starring Wendell Pierce, Karen Kaia Livers, Dominique McClellan, Braelyn Kelly, and Emyri Crutchfield.