Candescent Films

Candescent Films
Private
Industry Film
Founded 2010
Founder Lilly Hartley
(creative producer)
Headquarters New York, NY
Website candescentfilms.com

Candescent Films is an American film production company that produces and finances documentary and narrative films that explore social issues.

History

Candescent Films was founded in 2010 by producer and actress Lilly Hartley.[1][2]

Productions

The Queen of Versailles was Candescent's first supported film.[3] Directed by Lauren Greenfield, it premiered opening day of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival[4] and was nominated for a DGA Award,[5] IDA Award[6] and Critics' Choice Award.[7]

Sons of the Clouds, a 2012 documentary exploring human rights issues in Western Sahara, was Candescent's second release. Starring Javier Bardem, the film was directed by Alvaro Longoria and produced by Longoria, Hartley and Bardem.[1][8][9] It won the 2013 Goya Award for Best Documentary Film.[10] The film screened at the European Parliament in Brussels,[11] and at the United Nations in New York for the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.[12]

In 2013, Candescent produced Likeness, an eight-minute film about eating disorders and body image. It stars Elle Fanning and was directed by Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto.[13][14] After being approached by Candescent to write and direct a short film with a social message that was personal to him, Prieto chose the subject of body image, since his daughter had previously struggled with an eating disorder.[13][15] After premiering at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, Likeness was released online via T: The New York Times Style Magazine.[13] It was nominated for a 2014 Webby Award under the Drama: Long Form or Series category.[16]

Other projects include Who is Dayani Cristal? (produced and narrated by Gael García Bernal), Fed Up (produced and narrated by Katie Couric), and 1971 and Art and Craft, which both premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival.[2][3] 1971 won the ABCNews VideoSource Award at the 2015 International Documentary Association Awards,[17] and the Spotlight Award at the 2015 Cinema Eye Honors.[18] Cartel Land, 3 1/2 Minutes and Racing Extinction all premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Cartel Land won the Sundance Film Festival Directing Award: U.S. Documentary and U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography, and 3 1/2 Minutes won the Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact.[19]

Candescent is financing the development and production of Last Call, a documentary about the attempts of Japanese Buddhist priests to combat the 1997 suicide epidemic in Japan. Director Lana Wilson's first film, After Tiller, received a 2013 Candescent Award.[20]

Candescent Award

The "Candescent Award" is the name for two different awards, both issued by Candescent Films, one in cooperation with the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program (DFP) and one in cooperation with the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI).[21][22]

DFP Candescent Award

In 2012, Candescent Films created the Candescent Award in partnership with the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program to support the creation and completion of socially conscious documentary films. It began as a two-year gift to the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, and has continued as an annual award given at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.[3][8]

The winner of the inaugural Candescent Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival was Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare. The 2013 winners were Gideon's Army, about public defenders, and After Tiller, about the 2009 assassination of Dr. George Tiller. Both films were nominated for 2013 Spirit Awards. In January 2014, Candescent Films announced the three winners of its 2014 Candescent Award in partnership with the Sundance Institute: Marmato, about a Columbian mining town; Private Violence, about a domestic violence victim's fight to put her husband in prison; and E-Team, about a team of human rights investigators.[23] The two winners of the 2015 Candescent Award were How to Change the World, which won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and (T)error, which won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Break Out First Feature at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.[19][24]

TFI Candescent Award

In April 2014, in partnership with the Tribeca Film Institute, Candescent Films created a grant, also called the Candescent Award, given to films that have been supported by the Tribeca Film Institute.[2] The winners of the inaugural Candescent Award through the Tribeca Film Festival were Nas: Time Is Illmatic, about the creation of rapper Nas' 1994 debut album Illmatic,[3][25] and The Yes Men Are Revolting.[26]

Candescent sponsored the audience award at the 2014 Hamptons International Film Festival SummerDocs Series, hosted by Alec Baldwin. The winner was Keep on Keepin' On, about the mentorship between jazz musician Clark Terry and blind piano prodigy Justin Kaulflin.[27][28]

List of films

Year Title Notes
2012 Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare Won Candescent Award
Sons of the Clouds Won 2013 Goya Award for Best Documentary Film
The Queen of Versailles Nominated for DGA Award, IDA Award and Critics' Choice Award
2013 After Tiller Won Candescent Award; nominated for Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature
Gideon's Army Won Candescent Award; nominated for Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature
Likeness Short film; nominated for Webby Award
Remote Area Medical
2014 1971 Won 2015 International Documentary Association ABCNews VideoSource Award and 2015 Cinema Eye Honors Spotlight Award
Art and Craft
E-Team Won Candescent Award
Fed Up
Marmato Won Candescent Award
Private Violence Won Candescent Award
Nas: Time Is Illmatic Won Candescent Award
Who Is Dayani Cristal?
The Yes Men Are Revolting Won Candescent Award
2015 Cartel Land Won Sundance Film Festival Directing Award: U.S. Documentary and U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography
How to Change the World Won Candescent Award; won Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing
Racing Extinction
(T)error Won Candescent Award; won Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Break Out First Feature
3 1/2 Minutes Won Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mike Fleming, Jr., “Candescent Films Launches With Jeff Nichols, Javier Bardem, R.J. Cutler Pics,” Deadline.com, September 21, 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jeremy Kay, “Illmatic inaugural Candescent winner,” Screen International, April 2, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Pamela McClintock, “Tribeca: Nas Documentary ‘Time is Illmatic’ to Receive Inaugural Candescent Award,” The Hollywood Reporter, April 2, 2014.
  4. ↑ Kenneth Turan, “Sundance: ‘Queen of Versailles’ keenly eyes the rich and struggling,” Los Angeles Times, January 19, 2012.
  5. ↑ “Bravo Gears Up For ‘Queen of Versailles’ April 29th Premiere: NBC Press Day,” Deadline.com, April 22, 2013.
  6. ↑ Peter Knegt, “’Central Park Five,’ ‘Queen of Versailles’ Among IDA Documentary Award Nominees,” Indiewire, October 22, 2012.
  7. ↑ “Critics’ Choice Awards 2013: Complete List of Nominations,” E! Online, December 11, 2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Kevin Jagernauth, “Candescent Films Gives A Two-Year Gift To The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program,” Indiewire, November 16, 2011.
  9. ↑ Christopher Rosen, “Javier Bardem On ‘Sons Of The Clouds’: Documentary Filmmaking As Activism,” Huffington Post, November 5, 2012.
  10. ↑ John Hopewell, “Spain’s Longoria Directs ‘Korean Dream’,” Variety, April 17, 2014.
  11. ↑ Gonzalo Suarez Lopez, “Javier Bardem takes Sons of the Clouds to the European Parliament,” Cineuropa, May 30, 2012.
  12. ↑ “Dialogue on Western Sahara and Screening of ‘Sons of the Clouds: The Last Colony,” columbiacupid.org, March 5, 2013.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Nick Haramis, “A Shocking Short Film About Body Image, Starring Elle Fanning,” T: The New York Times Style Magazine, December 12, 2013.
  14. ↑ Jessica Grose, “New Elle Fanning Film About Body Image Is Hard to Watch – But You Should Do It Anyway,” Elle, December 16, 2013.
  15. ↑ Melanie Haiken, “Shocking Elle Fanning Video On Eating Disorders Goes Viral,” Forbes, December 16, 2013.
  16. ↑ Sahil Patel, “And the Nominees for the 18th Annual Webby Awards Are…” Video Ink, April 8, 2014.
  17. ↑ "30th Annual IDA Awards," documentary.org. Accessed February 16, 2015.
  18. ↑ "2015 Cinema Eye Honors Announces Winners," Cinema Eye Honors, January 8, 2015.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Dave McNary, "Sundance: ‘How to Change the World,’ ‘(T)error’ Win Candescent Awards," Variety, January 24, 2015.
  20. ↑ Tatiana Siegel, “Director of Abortion Doc ‘After Tiller’ to Tackle Film About Suicide Epidemic,” The Hollywood Reporter, June 9, 2014.
  21. ↑ "AWARD — Candescent Films". Candescent Films. 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  22. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (2 April 2014). "Tribeca: Nas Documentary 'Time is Illmatic' to Receive Inaugural Candescent Award". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  23. ↑ Pamela McClintock, “Sundance: Candescent Films Announces 2014 Documentary Awards,” The Hollywood Reporter, January 18, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Award Winners," Sundance Film Festival '15. Accessed February 16, 2015.
  25. ↑ Steve Dollar, “Tribeca Film Festival: A Cinematic Hat Tip to Everything New York,” Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2014.
  26. ↑ Jake Folsom, "Exclusive: TFI Awards Candescent Film Award to 'The Yes Men Are Revolting'," Indiewire, October 30, 2014.
  27. ↑ "SummerDocs," Hamptons International Film Festival. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  28. ↑ Tatiana Siegel, "Roger Ebert Doc 'Life Itself' to Open Hamptons SummerDocs Series," The Hollywood Reporter, May 21, 2014.

External links