Lilly Hartley
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Candescent Films
Lilly Hartley | |
|---|---|
| Occupations | Founder & creative producer, Candescent Films |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Website | candescentfilms.com |
Lilly Hartley is an American documentary film producer and actress, and the founder of Candescent Films.
Hartley was raised in East Hampton, New York and New York City.[1] Her father is a playwright and graduate of the Yale School of Drama and her mother is a scientist.[2] Her godfather, Ken Howard, was an actor and was president of the Screen Actors Guild.[2] Her grandfather, Benjamin Epstein, worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy during the Civil Rights Movement in his role as national director of the Anti-Defamation League.[2] She majored in history and English in college and graduated summa cum laude.[2] She studied acting at William Esper Studio, completing the two-year program.[2]
Career
Hartley founded Candescent Films in 2010.[3][4] The film production company supports documentary films exploring social issues.[5] Prior to founding the company, Hartley worked as an actress[3] and production executive.[5] She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and Producers Guild of America.[3]
The first film supported by Candescent was The Queen of Versailles, which was the opening night film at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival,[3] and was nominated for a DGA Award,[6] IDA Award[7] and Critics' Choice Award.[8] Hartley served as an executive producer.[9] As a producer on Sons of the Clouds, a documentary exploring human rights issues in Western Sahara and starring Javier Bardem, Hartley won the 2013 Goya Award for Best Documentary Film.[10] In 2014, Hartley partnered with the Tribeca Film Institute to develop a Candescent Award for films that premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. The inaugural recipient of this award was Nas: Time Is Illmatic (2014).[11]
Some of Hartley's other work includes executive producing Who Is Dayani Cristal? starring Gael García Bernal,[12] executive producing Private Violence, which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival,[13] and producing Likeness, a short film starring Elle Fanning and directed by Rodrigo Prieto.[4][11] Hartley executive produced The Departure, directed by Lana Wilson.[14][15] Hartley executive produced the big game hunting documentary Trophy, which premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired by CNN Films and The Orchard.[16] Hartley also executive produced Generation Wealth.[17][18]