The Broken Candle | JFI Online Short: December 2024
This month’s online short is The Broken Candle, directed by Felix Kiner.
Felix Kiner, 2021, United States, 9 minutes, English
About the Film: As Hanukkah approaches, JFI is proud to present The Broken Candle by Felix Kiner as our online short of the month. This delightful animated short tells the heartwarming tale of Nira, a broken Hanukkah candle who becomes the shamash (“lead candle” of the hanukkiah) on the last night of the Festival of Lights.
Watch the film and read an exclusive interview with director Felix Kiner below.
Jewish Film Institute: Chag Sameach! Thanks for sharing this film with us. Can you tell us about the origin story for this project?
Felix Kiner: This project was developed as part of the drive-in experience that the Stephen S. Wise Temple put together for kids of Los Angeles in 2020 during the pandemic. When Hanukkah came about, the kids were stuck at home, climbing walls. We wanted to give them something special and it was. Families could stay in the safety of their cars and took a ride in a maze of lights and multimedia presentation, culminating in a 10-minute screening of The Broken Candle on a large inflatable screen. The film screened on loop for the duration of the entire month and many people came to see it multiple times.
JFI: Tell us about your animation background, and how you developed the look and the feel of the film?
FK: My animation journey began with the pandemic. Before that, I was mostly doing storyboards, illustration, special effects and very sparse animation for films. When the pandemic started, I made a few shorts before doing The Broken Candle. We wanted the film to look like current animation offerings of the day. We chose 3D animation in the vein of Pixar or others like it so the kids could feel like they were watching something they love and are familiar with. Seeing a Hanukkah story done in the style of their favorite movies hopefully brought them closer to the tradition.
JFI: The Broken Candle features many talented actors, including Tom Kenny and Tiffany Haddish, among others. What was the casting process like?
FK: The Stephen Wise organization is very respected in the community and has a great amount of reach with the best talent in the business. When people learned about the purpose of this project, they immediately jumped on board. All the recording sessions were conducted on Zoom. Every single one of the participants was as amazing and giving as you’d imagine they would be. It was my personal highlight to direct this incredible group.
JFI: What are your thoughts on Jewish holiday films, and what attracted you to making a Hanukkah film?
FK: There is so little of it and we need more. I have a 10-year-old son and he loved the film. Now every Hanukkah we watch it and it has become a tradition. But not only us, many other families watch this short every year come Hanukkah. I get letters of appreciation from kids, parents and Jewish organizations. I didn’t expect it. We’re all proud of it. I am thankful to our producers Yoshi Zweiback and Michael Lam who also wrote the film for putting this film together and trusting me to direct it. This film was produced with an international crew of 30 people from more than 10 countries, and most of them had never even heard about Hanukkah. It was a journey I will never forget. Hope you will enjoy watching The Broken Candle. Happy Hanukkah!
About the Filmmaker: Felix Kiner is an animation director, illustrator, and storyboard artist. He lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
About JFI Online Shorts: JFI Online Shorts features one new short film each month from emerging and established filmmakers. Since 2009, JFI has showcased over 100 online shorts and garnered worldwide views over 2 million on the JFI Youtube channel. Learn more at www.jfi.org.
