Phillip Youmans

{{infobox person

|name=Phillip Youmans

|birth_date={{birth date and age|2000|2|18}}

|birth_place=New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

|alma_mater=New York University

|occupation=Filmmaker

|notable_works=Burning Cane (2019)

|website={{url|https://phillipyoumans.com/}}

}}

Phillip Youmans (born February 18, 2000){{Cite web|url=https://andscape.com/features/phillip-youmans-first-black-director-to-win-at-tribeca-with-debut-film-burning-cane/|title=Phillip Youmans becomes first black director to win at Tribeca with his feature debut, 'Burning Cane'|last=McDonald|first=Soraya Nadia|date=May 7, 2019|website=Andscape|language=en-US|access-date=May 8, 2019}} is an American filmmaker. He is the first African-American director to win the Founders Prize at Tribeca Film Festival, which he received for his 2019 directorial debut, Burning Cane.{{Cite web|url=https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/2019-tribeca-film-festival-in-burning-cane-the-devil-1834552419|title=2019 Tribeca Film Festival: In Burning Cane, the Devil Is in the Details|last=Stidhum|first=Tonja Renée|website=The Grapevine|date=May 6, 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=May 8, 2019}}

Early life and education

Youmans was born and raised in New Orleans.{{Cite web|title=How Burning Cane's 19-year-old director made his haunting tale of religion in the South|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/11/11/20949936/burning-cane-interview-phillip-youmans-netflix|last=Wilkinson|first=Alissa|date=2019-11-11|website=Vox|language=en|access-date=2020-05-05}} He first became interested in film-making when he was 13. Youmans attended two high schools through a dual enrollment program: Benjamin Franklin High School and New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.{{Cite news|last=Bramesco|first=Charles|date=2019-10-30|title='I had to make this happen': how a 19-year-old director wowed Hollywood|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/oct/30/i-had-to-make-this-happen-how-a-19-year-old-director-wowed-hollywood|access-date=2020-05-05|issn=0261-3077}}

He completed his freshman year at New York University in May 2019. In October 2019 he stated he may drop out of the program to focus on his career.

Career

Youmans wrote, shot, directed and edited his first feature-length film, Burning Cane, as a senior in high school, when he was 17.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/burning-cane-meet-the-tribeca-film-festivals-youngest-director-ever-19-year-old-phillip-youmans|title=The Youngest Director Ever at the Tribeca Film Festival|work=The Daily Beast|last=Fallon|first=Kevin|date=April 25, 2019|access-date=May 8, 2019|language=en}} The film grew from a short film that Youmans wrote called The Glory. It tells the story of a woman (played by Karen Kaia Livers) in rural Louisiana and her relationships with her alcoholic son and a local preacher.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/burning-cane-1208853|title='Burning Cane': Film Review {{!}} Tribeca 2019|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=May 8, 2019 |language=en|access-date=May 8, 2019}} It also stars and was co-produced by Wendell Pierce.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/entertainment_life/article_9153718c-6de7-11e9-81ea-ab1f70034180.html|title=Phillip Youmans, 19-year-old New Orleans native, wins top award at Tribeca Film Festival for Louisiana-shot 'Burning Cane'|last=Writer|first=JAKE COYLE {{!}} AP Film|website=The Advocate|language=en|access-date=May 8, 2019}} Raised Baptist, Youmans stated that the goal of Burning Cane was to "touch on [] how rigid religious conviction can be within the rural South, especially under sort of rigid interpretation of Protestantism." Youmans financed the film with $2500 in personal savings, an Indiegogo campaign, and donations from friends and family.

Burning Cane won the Founders Prize and the prize for best cinematography in a U.S. narrative feature film at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. Youmans is the first African-American director to receive the Founders Prize; he is also the youngest director to have a film accepted to the Tribeca Film Festival.

Youmans announced that he is currently developing his next feature film, which will focus on "the Black Panther chapter in New Orleans during 1978."