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 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church), including '' Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration'', ''Gordon B. Hinckley: A Giant Among Men'', '' 17 Miracles'', and ''

Ephraim's Rescue ''Ephraim's Rescue'' is a religious historical drama film by T. C. Christensen, released in 2013 by Excel Entertainment Group. It is based on the true stories of Mormon pioneers Ephraim Hanks and Thomas Dobson and their experiences in the handca ...

''. 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 The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

Biography

Christensen grew up in Layton,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, with nine siblings. He served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

for the LDS Church in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

from 1972 to 1974. He studied filmmaking at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

(BYU) and the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

(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 KSL-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship television property of locally based Bonneville International, the for-profit bro ...

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 Kieth W. Merrill (born May 22, 1940) is an American filmmaker who has worked as a writer, director, and producer in the film industry since 1967. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Directors Guild of America ...

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 Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...

, founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

(

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

). 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 Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

-themed films include the biography of LDS Church president

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'', 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 ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...

'', ''

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'', 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 ''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt and Sean Covel, written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars Jon Heder in the role of the titular character, a nerdy ...

'' and ''

Nacho Libre ''Nacho Libre'' is a 2006 sports comedy film directed by Jared Hess and written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and Mike White. It stars Jack Black as Ignacio, a Catholic friar and lucha libre fan who secretly moonlights as a luchador to earn money fo ...

'' director

Jared Hess Jared Lawrence Hess (born July 18, 1979) and Jerusha Elizabeth Hess ( Demke; born May 12, 1980) are husband-and-wife American filmmakers best known for their work on ''Napoleon Dynamite'' (2004), ''Nacho Libre'' (2006) and '' Gentlemen Broncos ...

. 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 films including ''Texas: The Big Picture'' and ''Ozarks: Legacy and Legend''. 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. In 2013, Christensen's film ''Ephraim's Rescue'' about the life of

Ephraim Hanks Ephraim Knowlton Hanks (21 March 1826 – 9 June 1896) was a prominent member of the 19th-Century Latter Day Saint movement, a Mormon pioneer and a well known leader in the early settlement of Utah. Hanks was born in Madison, Lake County, Ohio, th ...

, 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. 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 Coke ...

'' which tells the story of the school bombing in Cokeville, Wyoming, 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 (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

(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