Candlelight

“We can safely say that Candlelight has raised the bar! ”

In a dusty attic, a tall dinner candle springs to life. As the playful and curious candle explores, learning to hop, skip and dance, it discovers a second candle. The two play and dance their way through the attic, falling in love.

This charming and utterly stunning animation from writer and director Scott Newton is certainly one you’ll remember. The story is poetic and endearing, making for a lasting film that’s for anyone and everyone regardless of language. The story really jumps from the screen and will grab your attention with it’s vivid colours and unique look. Having seen countless animations from all over the world, we can safely say that Candlelight has raised the bar!

Attempting such a film shows the creativity of Newton and the rest of the team, and we are certainly glad they did. A large group of talented filmmakers helped make this film possible and they should all be immensely proud of what they’ve created together.

The style and quality of the animation is superb, looking more like something you’d expect to see before a Disney feature. There is a classic feel to it that’s reminiscent of early animated shorts that you don’t see so much anymore. The textures, lighting, rigging and character design is of the highest standard. Such attention to detail allows you to really focus on the story and enjoy every frame, picking up finer details with each watch. The setting was perfect and allowed for plenty of memorable scenes. Using a dusty attic with a small candle was a wonderful choice to place the story that felt warm and cosy for the character. Another big part of the film is how much you get in the short run time. Newton doesn’t keep our characters anywhere for too long and keeps the momentum of the story going throughout.

The score from Mark Gordon, Graham Hill and Richard Hill perfectly matches the sense of wonder and magic in the story and is what makes you really connect with the characters journey more deeply. Both the music and visuals are working harmoniously with each other and elevate the production considerably.

We can’t praise this film enough and hope the team continue to produce more films of this standard for everyone to see. It was a pleasure to watch this film and we expect audiences to love every moment of it…

— APEX Film Awards