A coastal home in La Jolla and a San Diego organization supporting people after incarceration are the subjects of two Synchronous Pictures films recognized at this year’s Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards.
At the June 27 ceremony, director James Parker received his first Emmy in the Director–Short Form category for Candlelight Drive. Rise Up: Breaking the Cycle also earned a nomination in the same category.
A $30 million home deserved a bold approach. For Candlelight Drive: A Life Revealed, Synchronous Pictures and Dane Soderberg & Associates set out to make a real estate film that felt different. The story follows a couple through a day: out on the water, quiet moments at home, an afternoon with friends, then together beside the fire. Parker conceived it as a tonal poem, using rhythm, restraint and small details to draw viewers into that life. The home is revealed through the people and moments that fill it.
Rise Up: Breaking the Cycle follows the fragile work of rebuilding a life after incarceration. Horace is preparing to graduate from Rise Up Industries’ training program in San Diego. He’s excited about what comes next, but nervous, too. Ernie and Mike have already made that transition. Now they lead the machine shop and youth program, helping others find their footing. Through candid interviews and everyday moments at home and work, the film gets into the discipline of learning a trade, the weight of past choices, and the responsibility of helping someone else through it. People once caught in the system are now part of changing what happens next.
Watch Rise Up: Breaking the Cycle
