Tribeca Film Festival opening-night film Time Is Illmatic -- chronicling the making of hip-hop
artist Nas' 1994 debut album -- will be the inaugural recipient of the Candescent Award, part
of a new grant program designed to support the making of documentary films.Lilly Hartley's
Candescent Films announced the multi-year award program on Wednesday in conjunction
with the Tribeca Film Institute. The grant will be given through the Institute, home of the Tribeca
Film Festival, which runs April 16-27.
Time Is Illmatic was directed by multimedia artist One9, who produced the documentary with Erik
Parker. Illmatic is one of the most celebrated hip-hop albums in history, and the film explores the
social conditions and environmental influences that contributed to Nas' process.
"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, a producer and
actress who formed Candescent in 2011.
In January, Candescent announced a similar award grant program in partnership with the Sundance
Institute. “As with all of our grantees, Tribeca Film Institute is honored to have had the great opportunity
to work with Time is Illlmatic 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 Tribeca Institute vice
president of artist programs 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.”
Source: THR