Candescent Films announced today a multi-year initiative with the Tribeca Film Institute to support documentary film through the Candescent Award. Candescent Films produces and finances social issue films–as well as champion the passion projects of actors and filmmakers committed to raising awareness through film–and was founded in 2010 by creative producer Lilly Hartley. Upcoming releases of films the company supported include WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL? starring Gael Garcia Bernal, FED UP, REMOTE AREA MEDICAL, HBO’s PRIVATE VIOLENCE, E-TEAM, and MARMATO, as well as 1971 and ART AND CRAFT, both of which will premiere at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. Candescent Films. Through compelling character-driven documentaries, Candescent Films aims to ignite conversation and create positive change.
This image released by the Tribeca Film Festival shows Nas in a scene from the documentary, “Time is Illmatic.” The film, which follows the trajectory of Nas’ 1994 landmark debut album, “Illmatic,” will open the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival on April 16. The festival will run through April 27. (AP Photo/Tribeca Film Festival)
Earlier films supported include QUEEN OF VERSAILLES, Javier Bardem’s SONS OF THE CLOUDS, GIDEON’S ARMY and AFTER TILLER both nominated for Spirit Awards, and LIKENESS starring Elle Fanning.
The Award’s inaugural recipient will be TIME IS ILLMATIC, which is opening this year’s Tribeca Film Festival®. The award is a grant given through the Tribeca Film Institute.
TIME IS ILLMATIC, from director/producer One9 and producer Erik Parker, delves deep into the making of Nas’ 1994 debut album, Illmatic, and the social conditions that influenced its creation. Twenty years after its release, Illmatic has become a hip-hop benchmark that encapsulates the socio-political outlook, enduring spirit, and collective angst of a generation of young black men searching for their voice in America. TIME IS ILLMATIC examines the social conditions and environmental influences that contributed to Nas’ worldview.
“TIME IS ILLMATIC is a lyrical film that inspires us to overcome social and economic challenges and celebrates cultural history. I am honored to support the heartbeat of this film through the Candescent Award. Candescent’s partnership with the Tribeca Film Institute is exciting to me as they provide vital resources to emerging artists and the documentary community,” said Lilly Hartley.
“As with all of our grantees, Tribeca Film Institute is honored to have had the great opportunity to work with TIME IS ILLMATIC throughout the film’s creative process – from giving it a Tribeca All Access grant for production in 2013, through choosing it for a Tribeca All Access Alumni grant for editing in 2014, to now with this Candescent Award to help get it to the finish line,” said Ryan Harrington, Vice President, Artist Programs, Tribeca Film Institute. “We are proud to be partnering with Candescent to support more important documentaries in the future.”
I want to thank the Tribeca Film Festival for supporting the film with the incredible platform they’ve built over the years,” Nas in a statement. “It’s an honor to premiere this film in my hometown,” says Nas. “I also want to thank One9 and Erik Parker for their persistence and hard work. Those guys and I come from the same place and era, which gives the doc an authenticity that is important to me. We wanted this film to represent the real, from the storyline all the way down to the directors and producers.
The Tribeca Film Institute champions storytellers to be catalysts for change in their communities and around the world. Through grants and professional development programs for narrative, documentary and new media projects, TFI supports a diverse, exceptional group of filmmakers and media artists, providing them resources needed to fully realize their stories and connect with audiences. The Institute’s educational programming leverages an extensive film community network to help underserved New York City students learn filmmaking and gain the media skills necessary to be productive citizens and creative individuals in the 21st century. Featuring hands-on training and exposure to socially relevant films, the Institute administers programs to more than 30,000 students annually.
Erik Parker is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism. He served as Music and Senior Editors for The Source Magazine, Director of Content for music news site, SOHH.com, and Music Editor forVIBE Magazine. He has also written for XXL, RollingStone, The Village Voice, Latina, Glamour andMTV.com. Aside from his work as a print journalist, Parker has produced and hosted MTV Jams’ “The Parker Report,” a groundbreaking talk show that gathered hip-hop’s leading voices to discuss issues surrounding music, culture and politics.
One9 is an award winning multimedia artist, director, producer and editor. His clients included Google, PBS, Viacom, Sony Music, and several non-profit organizations. As an artist One9 was selected by Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York to create an original series of artwork presented to their selected music talent in 2013-2014.
Filed under: 2014 Tribeca Film Festival Tagged: Candescent Award, Candescent Films, Time is Illmatic, Tribeca Film Institute