Short Film Documentary, Relighting Candles – The Story of Tim Sullivan, will be playing at Outfest LA Film Festival on Sunday, July 16, 2023, 11am, at the Directors Guild of America, Theater 1, located at 7920 W Sunset Blvd. A virtual screening of the film will also be available on July 17, at 12am PDT, (you’ll have 6 days 23 hours to start watching. Once you begin, you’ll have 48 hours to finish watching).
To purchase tickets for the live screening, visit:
Films and Events — 2023 Outfest LA Film Festival
For the virtual screening, visit:
Relighting Candles: The Tim Sullivan Story | Virtual Screening: Shorts: Is This The Real Life, Is This Just Fantasy? | 2023 Outfest LA LGBTQ+ Film Festival (eventive.org)
The documentary short, produced by Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone, and co-directed by Zeberiah Newman (“Unexpected”) and Michiel Thomas (“Game Face”), chronicles the 82-year-old Bronx native’s journey from coming out as a gay man, to how he got sober more than 40 years ago and his tradition of hiring homeless and newly sober people at his company, Timothy Jay Candles. The documentary also highlights homelessness and the fentanyl crisis in Los Angeles County.
Timothy Jay Candles in West Hollywood is known for creating handmade fragrance candles for private label and international clients. “An intricate process, but everything is done by hand,” reads a post on the business website. “We work in stages melting and pouring the wax hand-placing the wicks and letting them dry properly for 24 hours”
The early days of Timothy Jay Candles can also be found in the About Page:
“It’s a phenomenon…a little studio tucked away on a side street in West Hollywood producing thousands and thousands of candles for stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, landmarks like the Beverly Hills Hotel and the famous clothing designer Dana Buchman!
In 1998, when I moved in, we had to clear out the remnants of a dry cleaner that had been in the location for years. Slowly, garment trolleys disappeared and long tables were installed to hold the products and materials needed to produce our candles. Soon “locals” were wandering in, following the trail of fantastic fragrances that had wafted into the air. They stayed to watch us hand pouring and the entire process and were fascinated and amazed that we were able to handle such quantities. Orders and Private Labels started rolling in. We needed a “front” to keep in tune with the changing neighborhood, so I designed a small “Studio” space that worked for both clients and the walk-ins.
You might say the whole process is of another time … a time when artisans we’re proud of their work and when finished products were the direct result of hand work rather than machines. I like it that way and I must say … so do my customers!”
