Thomas C. Christensen (born 1953) is an American cinematographer, film director, and writer best known for his work on films related to the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), including Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration, Gordon B. Hinckley: A Giant Among Men, 17 Miracles, and Ephraim's Rescue. He has made films about the Martin and Willie handcart companies who traversed the plains toward the Salt Lake Valley in late 1856. Christensen is also a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.
T. C. Christensen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1953 (age 70–71) Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Brigham Young University |
| Occupation | Filmmaker |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Notable work | |
Biography
editChristensen grew up in Layton, Utah, with nine siblings. He served as a missionary for the LDS Church in Ohio and West Virginia from 1972 to 1974. He studied filmmaking at Brigham Young University (BYU) and the University of Utah (U of U).[1]
Christensen married his wife, Katy, in 1980. They have two children, Tanner and Tess, both of whom have worked with Christensen on his films. His cousin Ron Tanner has also collaborated with Christensen on his films.[1]
Career
editWhile attending BYU and the U of U, Christensen worked as a part-time cameraman for KSL-TV in Utah for five years. He declined offers to go full-time because he did not want to pursue a career in news.[1] After leaving KSL-TV, Christensen began freelance filmmaking. He credits fellow filmmaker Kieth Merrill as his mentor, with Merrill's children cast in Christensen's The Mouth of Babes.[1]
Films by Christensen have received recognition in several film festivals. His A Pioneer Miracle (also titled In the Arms of Angels) received the Grand Remi Award at the Houston International Film Festival in 2004.[2][3]Seasons of the Heart, for which he was both director and cinematographer, received multiple awards in film festivals.[4] Christensen has made several films about Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (Mormonism).[5] Among these are Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration and Emma Smith: My Story, both made in cooperation with Gary Cook.[6] Other Latter-day Saint-themed films include the biography of LDS Church president Gordon B. Hinckley, made following Hinckley's death in 2008.[7] Christensen wrote, directed, and produced Only A Stonecutter, the story of John R. Moyle, father of James H. Moyle.[8] Christensen has also been the cinematographer for a large number of films. These include Rigoletto, The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd, Forever Strong, and Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy.[9][8] Having collaborated over the years, T. C. Christensen has been described as the "mentor" of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre director Jared Hess.[10]
On such films as the first Work and the Glory, Christensen's cinematography was considered by some to be by far the best part of the film.[11] Christensen has also made several IMAX films including Texas: The Big Picture and Ozarks: Legacy and Legend.[12] In the summer of 2011, 17 Miracles was released across the country. The film depicts the Martin and Willie handcart companies as they traveled across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley in 1856.[13][14] In 2013, Christensen's film Ephraim's Rescue about the life of Ephraim Hanks, a notable rescuer of the Martin Handcart Company, was released to good user reviews, and specifically the addressed events of Hanks bringing the first food supplies to the company, who were snow-bound and starving on the Mormon Trail.[15][16] In 2015, Christensen wrote and directed The Cokeville Miracle which tells the story of the school bombing in Cokeville, Wyoming, in 1986.[17][18] In 2016, Christensen began working on Love, Kennedy. It is based on the true story of Ogden, Utah, teenager Kennedy Hansen's battle with Juvenile Batten Disease. The film was released in June 2017.[19][20]
Christensen is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.[21]
Filmography
editAll credits come from Internet Movie Database (IMDb).[22]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Wheels of Fire | Cinematographer & editor | Documentary |
| 1978 | The Bridge | Cinematographer | Short film, credited as Thomas R. Christensen |
| 1979 | Kenny Rogers and the American Cowboy | Cinematographer | Television film |
| 1982 | The Ghost of the Great Salt Lake | Director | |
| 1987 | The Touch of the Master's Hand | Director | Short film, credited as Tom Christensen |
| 1988 | On Our Own | Cinematographer & actor | Television film |
| 1990 | Quest for a Go-Getter | Director of photography | Video short |
| 1991 | Dream Machine | Cinematographer | |
| 1991 | In Your Wildest Dreams | Cinematographer | |
| 1992 | The ButterCream Gang | Cinematographer | Video |
| 1992 | Split Infinity | Cinematographer | |
| 1992 | On the Way Home | Cinematographer | Video short |
| 1993 | Rigoletto | Cinematographer | Video |
| 1993 | Seasons of the Heart | Cinematographer | |
| 1995 | Fedora | Cinematographer | Short |
| 1995 | Reach for the Stars | Director of photography | |
| 1995 | The Dark Knight | Cinematographer | Short |
| 1995 | Ozarks: Legacy & Legend | Cinematographer | |
| 1995 | San Francisco: The Movie | Cinematography | Short |
| 1995 | Valencia, Spain | Cinematographer | |
| 1996 | Treasure Chest | Cinematographer | Short |
| 1996 | Turning Point | Cinematographer | Video short |
| 1996 | Last Resort | Cinematographer | |
| 1996 | Clubhouse Detectives | Cinematographer | |
| 1997 | Witness | Cinematographer | Short |
| 1997 | Trail of Hope: The Story of the Mormon Trail | Cinematographer | Television documentary |
| 1997 | The King's Falcon | Cinematographer | Short |
| 1998 | No More Baths | Cinematographer | |
| 1998 | Follow Your Heart | Cinematographer | Short |
| 1998 | Angels in the Attic | Director of photography | |
| 1999 | Olympic Glory | Cinematographer | Documentary short |
| 1999 | A Kid Called Danger | Cinematographer | |
| 1999 | American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith | Cinematographer | Documentary |
| 1999 | Christmas Mission | Cinematographer | Video short |
| 2000 | Navigate your Destiny | Cinematographer | Short |
| 2000 | The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd | Cinematographer | |
| 2000 | Baby Bedlam | Director of photography | |
| 2000 | Message in a Cell Phone | Cinematographer | |
| 2001 | Walls | Cinematographer | Short |
| 2001 | Bug Off! | Cinematographer & writer | |
| 2001 | The Penny Promise | Cinematographer & writer | |
| 2001 | Horse Crazy | Cinematographer | |
| 2002 | Journey to Harmony | Director of photography | Short |
| 2002 | Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West | Cinematographer | Short |
| 2003 | A Pioneer Miracle | Cinematographer & writer | Video short (alternative title: In the Arms of Angels)[23] |
| 2003 | Texas: The Big Picture | Cinematographer | Documentary short |
| 2004 | The Work and the Glory | Director of photography | |
| 2005 | Down and Derby | Cinematographer | |
| 2005 | A Warm Heart | Director of photography | Short |
| 2005 | Praise to the Man | Cinematographer & writer & director | Video |
| 2005 | Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration | Cinematographer & Director | |
| 2006 | Roving Mars | Cinematographer | Documentary short |
| 2006 | Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy | Director of photography | Credited as TC Christensen |
| 2006 | Rainbows of Paradise: The Pageant of the Long Canoes | Director | Documentary short |
| 2007 | Take the Lead | Cinematographer | Video short |
| 2007 | Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure | Director of photography | Documentary short |
| 2007 | The Legacy of Aotearoa: Land of the Long, White Cloud | Cinematographer & Director | Video documentary short, credited as TC Christensen |
| 2008 | Emma Smith: My Story | Cinematographer & co-director | |
| 2008 | Forever Strong | Cinematographer | |
| 2008 | Gordon B. Hinckley: A Giant Among Men | Cinematographer & writer & director | Video |
| 2008 | Only a Stonecutter | Cinematographer & writer & director | Video short |
| 2009 | The Jerk Theory | Cinematographer | |
| 2009 | Treasure in Heaven: The John Tanner Story | Cinematographer & director | Video short |
| 2010 | The Killers: Boots | Director | Video short |
| 2010 | That Promised Day: The Coming Forth of the LDS Scripture | Director of photography | Video |
| 2011 | 17 Miracles | Cinematographer & writer & director | |
| 2012 | Everything's Fine | Cinematographer | Short |
| 2012 | 12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue | Cinematographer | |
| 2012 | Gathering of Friends | Cinematographer | |
| 2013 | Ephraim's Rescue | Cinematographer & writer & director | |
| 2014 | Scriptures Legacy | Cinematographer | Television short film |
| 2015 | The Cokeville Miracle | Cinematographer & writer & director | |
| 2017 | Love, Kennedy | Cinematographer & writer & director | |
| 2017 | The Stray | Cinematographer | |
| 2019 | The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith | Cinematographer | |
| 2019 | The Fighting Preacher | Cinematographer & writer & director | Finalist for the 2019 narrative-feature-film AML Award[24] |
| 2024 | Escape from Germany | Cinematographer & writer & director | |
| 2025 | Standout: The Ben Kjar Story | Cinematographer | Documentary |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Toone, Trent (March 6, 2013). "T.C. Christensen: the man, the movies, and the stories that matter". Deseret News Publishing Company. Deseret News. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ "2015 Remi Winners – Worldfest-Houston". worldfest.org. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
- ^ A Pioneer Miracle/In the Arms of Angels, retrieved 2018-05-10
- ^ Hicks, Chris (April 24, 1994). "'Seasons of the Heart' wins another award". Deseret News Publishing Company. Deseret News. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
- ^ "American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith (1999) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
- ^ Means, Sean P. (November 25, 2015). "Tayva Patch, actor in several LDS-themed films, dies at 62". The Salt Lake Tribune. The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
- ^ Moore, Carrie A. (2008-11-21), "Movie details early life of President Hinckley", Deseret News, archived from the original on July 31, 2012
- ^ a b Toone, Trent (March 6, 2013). "17 films from the resume of T.C. Christensen, creator of '17 miracles'". Deseret News Publishing Company. Deseret News. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
- ^ "Rigoletto (1993)". www.ldsfilm.com. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
- ^ Walch, Tad (2005-07-26), "BYU duo win Telly Award by a nose", Deseret News, archived from the original on July 30, 2012, retrieved 2009-06-05
- ^ Vice, Jeff (2004-11-24), "'Work' beautiful but disappointing", Deseret News, archived from the original on July 31, 2012, retrieved 2009-06-05
- ^ "Biographies: Latter-day Saint and/or Utah Film Personalities: C". www.ldsfilm.com. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
- ^ Fidel, Steve (2010-08-30), "T.C. Christensen's '17 Miracles' aims to be more than just a handcart story", Deseret News, archived from the original on August 9, 2011
- ^ Davis, Allan (2012). "17 Miracles. Directed by T.C. Christensen". BYU Studies Quarterly. 51 (4): 185–188. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ Hilton III, John (2014). "Ephraim's Rescue, written and directed by T.C. Christensen". BYU Studies Quarterly. 53 (2): 187–189. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ Toone, Trent (May 31, 2013). "'Ephraim's Rescue' another powerful pioneer tear-jerker". Deseret News Publishing Company. Deseret News. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ Toone, Trent (June 4, 2015). "Sharing the 'Miracle': Mormon filmmaker wants 'Cokeville' retelling to reach many faiths". Deseret News Publishing Company. Deseret News. Archived from the original on June 7, 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ Haddock, Sharon (March 13, 2015). "'The Cokeville Miracle' a story of faith and answered prayers". Deseret News Publishing Company. Deseret News. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ Toone, Trent (May 1, 2017). "TC Christensen's new film based on inspiring life of Utah teen who died from rare disease". Deseret News Publishing Company. Deseret News.
- ^ McDonald, Hannah (June 2, 2017). "'Love, Kennedy' is touching, if a little heavy-handed". Deseret News Publishing Company. Deseret News. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ "Members - The American Society of Cinematographers". theasc.com. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "T.C. Christensen". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ^ "'A Pioneer Miracle' (also known as 'In the Arms of Angels')". Harold Communications. Daily Herald. July 24, 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
- ^ "2019 AML Award Winners" by Andrew Hall. Dawning of a Brighter Day. Association for Mormon Letters. 2 May 2020. Accessed 2 May 2020.