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.
Biography Christensen 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).
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 Gordon B. Hinckley, 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, The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd, 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 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 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, 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 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).
+ Year Title RoleNotes 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 Cinematographer1996 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) 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"2019 AML Award Winners" by Andrew Hall. Dawning of a Brighter Day. Association for Mormon Letters. 2 May 2020. Accessed 2 May 2020.2024Escape from GermanyCinematographer & writer & director2025Standout: The Ben Kjar StoryCinematographerDocumentary2025Raising the Bar: The Alma Richards StoryCinematographer & writer & director
See also List of famous Latter-day Saints Lee Groberg
References
External links Official website for T.C. Christensen