Occupation Filmmaker Children Tess Christensen Role Filmmaker | Name T. Christensen Years active 1973–present | |
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Born 1953 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. Alma mater Brigham Young University Notable work Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration
Emma Smith: My Story
17 Miracles
Ephraim's Rescue
The Cokeville Miracle Education Brigham Young University, University of Utah Movies 17 Miracles, Ephraim's Rescue, The Work and the Glory, Joseph Smith: The Prophet o, Emma Smith: My Story Similar People Catlin EJ Meyer, Jasen Wade, Ryan Little, Tomas Kofod, Rick Macy | ||
T.C. Christensen on filmmaking
Tom C. Christensen (born 1953) is an American filmmaker. His films include Joseph Smith: The Man in 1980 to Gordon B. Hinckley: A Giant Among Men in 2008. More recently, he has made films about the Martin and Willie handcart companies, which encountered horrific difficulties while traversing the plains toward the Salt Lake Valley in late 1856.
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Biography
Christensen grew up in Layton, Utah. He served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Ohio and West Virginia from 1972 to 1974. He studied filmmaking at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah.
Career
Films by Christensen have received recognition in several film festivals. His Pioneer Miracle received the Best in Show award from the Houston International Film Festival in 2004. His 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 Mormon-themed films include the biography of LDS Church president Gordon B. Hinckley, made following Hinckley's death in 2008.
Christensen was the co-author and director of 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, The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd, Forever Strong, and Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy.
Christensen has been described as the "mentor" of 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 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 and their struggles and witnessed miracles as they travelled 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, which were snow-bound and starving on the Mormon Trail.
In 2015, Christensen wrote and directed The Cokeville Miracle which tells the story of the school bombing in Cokeville, Wyoming in 1986.
In 2016, Christensen began working on his newest project "Love, Kennedy". It is based on the true story of Kennedy Hansen and her battle with Juvenile Batten Disease. To be released in June 2017.