Thomas C. Christensen (born 1953) is an American

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

, 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 ''17 Miracles'' is a 2011 historical adventure film directed by T. C. Christensen. It was released in 2011 by Excel Entertainment Group. Based on the experiences of members of the Willie Handcart Company of Mormon pioneers following their late-sea ...

'', and '' Ephraim's Rescue''. He has made films about the Martin and Willie handcart companies who traversed the plains toward the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total po ...

in late 1856. Christensen is also a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.

Biography

Christensen grew up in

Layton Layton or The Laytons may refer to: Places United States * Layton, Florida, a city * Layton, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Layton Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa * Layton, New Jersey, an unincorporated community * Layton, Pennsyl ...

, 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). 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.

Career

While 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. 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''. 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.'' Seasons of the Heart'', for which he was both director and cinematographer, received multiple awards in film festivals. Christensen has made several films about Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement ( Mormonism). Among these are '' Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration'' and '' Emma Smith: My Story'', both made in cooperation with Gary Cook. Other Latter-day Saint-themed films include the biography of

LDS Church president The President of the Church is the highest office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was the office held by Joseph Smith, the church's founder. The church's president is its leader and the head of the First Pres ...

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

, made following Hinckley's death in 2008. Christensen wrote, directed, and produced ''

Only A Stonecutter Only may refer to: Music Albums * ''Only'' (album), by Tommy Emmanuel, 2000 * ''The Only'', an EP by Dua Lipa, 2017 Songs * "Only" (Anthrax song), 1993 * "Only" (Nine Inch Nails song), 2005 * "Only" (Nicki Minaj song), 2014 * "The Only", by ...

'', the story of John R. Moyle, father of James H. Moyle. Christensen has also been the cinematographer for a large number of films. These include '' Rigoletto'', ''

The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd The Joseph Smith Memorial Building, originally called the Hotel Utah, is a social center located on the corner of Main Street and South Temple in Salt Lake City. It is named in honor of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. I ...

'', ''

Forever Strong ''Forever Strong'' is a 2008 American sports drama film directed by Ryan Little, written by David Pliler and released on September 26, 2008. The film stars Sean Faris, Gary Cole, Neal McDonough, Sean Astin, Penn Badgley and Arielle Kebbel. The f ...

'', and '' Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy''. Having collaborated over the years, T. C. Christensen has been described as the "mentor" of '' Napoleon Dynamite'' and '' Nacho Libre'' director Jared Hess. 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. Christensen has also made several

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...

films including ''Texas: The Big Picture'' and ''Ozarks: Legacy and Legend''. In the summer of 2011, ''

'' 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. 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 The Mormon Trail is the long route from Illinois to Utah that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled for 3 months. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System, known as the Mormon ...

. In 2015, Christensen wrote and directed ''

The Cokeville Miracle ''The Cokeville Miracle'' is a 2015 drama film written & directed by T. C. Christensen and starring Jasen Wade, Sarah Kent and Kimball Stinger. The film was based on the Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis in 1986 and the book ''The Cokevi ...

'' which tells the story of the

school bombing This is a list of attacks that have occurred on school property or related primarily to school issues or events. A narrow definition of the word ''attacks'' is used for this list so as to exclude warfare, public attacks (as in political protests) ...

Cokeville, Wyoming Cokeville is a town in Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 535 at the 2010 census. The town is best known for the Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis. History The Shoshone Indians were the first inhabitants of the ...

, in 1986. 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. Christensen is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.

Filmography

All credits come from Internet Movie Database (IMDb).

References

External links

Official website for T.C. Christensen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, T. C. 1953 births Living people People from Layton, Utah American Mormon missionaries in the United States Brigham Young University alumni University of Utah alumni American cinematographers American Latter Day Saint artists Latter Day Saints from Utah Film directors from Utah Harold B. Lee Library-related 21st century articles

Biography

Career

Filmography

See also

References

External links