Quick Facts
Biography
Phillip Youmans (born 2000) 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.
Life & career
Youmans was raised in New Orleans. He first became interested in film-making when he was 13. He completed his freshman year at New York University in May 2019.
He wrote, shot, directed and edited his first feature-length film, Burning Cane, when he was 17. The film 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. It also stars and was co-produced by Wendell Pierce.
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.