Dead Man's Burden

Dead Man's Burden is a 2012 Western film directed by Jared Moshe. The film premiered on June 16, 2012, at the Los Angeles Film Festival and stars Barlow Jacobs and Clare Bowen as two siblings that reunite over the death of their father and a potential sale of their land. Plot Martha and her husband Heck are two hardy settlers trying to survive in New Mexico after the end of the Civil War and the death of Martha's father. They're given hope for a better life when a mining company shows interest in purchasing their homestead, but things become tense when Martha's brother Wade, who defected to the Union Army returns home after hearing of their father's death – unaware that Martha herself was the one who brought about his demise. Cast Barlow Jacobs as Wade McCurry Clare Bowen as Martha Kirkland David Call as Heck Kirkland Joseph Lyle Taylor as E.J. Lane Richard Riehle as Three Penny Hank Jerry Clarke as Sheriff Deacon Adam O'Byrne as Archie Ainsworth Travis Hammer as Ben Ainsworth Luce Rains as Joe McCurry William Sterchi as WC Claymore Production When writing the script for Dead Man's Burden, Moshe wrote with the intent to cast the film with lesser known actors, as he didn't want "to bring in a big-name actor who didn’t look like they belong in that period." Moshe did not use storyboards, as the film had a tight budget and couldn't afford a storyboard artist, instead watching other Western films for inspiration and working closely with cinematographer Robert Hauer. Filming took place in New Mexico over an 18-day period, where the cast experienced freak storms that forced the cast to walk to the set but did not delay filming.