Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone-Produced Doc ‘Relighting Candles’ Shines Light on One Man’s Charity (Exclusive)

Tim Sullivan, a West Hollywood candle maker who employs unhoused addicts, is the subject of a new documentary short premiering at Outfest

Melissa McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone are helping illuminate one man’s charity — and triumph over his own adversity.

Timothy Sullivan, a candle maker based in West Hollywood, California, is the subject of a documentary short produced by McCarthy and Falcone that premieres at Los Angeles’ LGBTQ-led festival Outfest next month. Relighting Candles: The Tim Sullivan Story chronicles the 82-year-old Sullivan’s inspiring journey: from alcoholism to sobriety to employing unhoused and newly sober members of his community at Timothy Jay Candles.

“We were immediately in,” McCarthy tells PEOPLE of boarding the short film midway through the process as executive producers. “In today’s world, society tends to focus on the negative, so to help shine the light on love and kindness felt like a gift.”

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"Tim Sullivan's selfless act of service is one that deserves to be spotlighted and as a community we need to recognize the power each of us has to have a meaningful impact on another person's life, no matter how big or small,” says Zeberiah Newman, co-director of Relighting Candles alongside Michiel Thomas.

He adds, “Kindness and second chances are some of our most powerful tools and Tim reminds us of this each day at his candle shop.”

Sullivan himself tells PEOPLE the “extraordinary” process of unspooling his life story to Newman and Thomas — for eight hours straight — was an eye-opening one. “I didn't know I had done so much,” he jokes.

“I've never felt it so easy to be so honest and truthful about my whole life — from my time in New York when I was a child to when I was in advertising to when I came out here and got sober in 1981. And it was just a wonderful, wonderful thing to go through.”

The film highlights the growing homelessness and drug addiction crises in Los Angeles that inspired Sullivan to use his candle shop as a community base, means of employment and even a home. “I’ve had the shop for over 25 years now,” he tells PEOPLE. “And there were always people coming in and out of recovery and, you know, people sleeping on the floor."

“In about 80 percent of the cases, these people are still sober and have found lives," Sullivan says. "That's the best part about it. That's what I'm happy about — being able to be of service.”

At the LGBTQ+ festival in July, McCarthy and Falcone will be honored with Outfest’s James Schamus Ally Award, recognizing their efforts to to promote queer stories to a broader audience, Newman says the honor is more than deserved. "Having worked with Ben and Melissa for years as their Late Late Show producer, and being a massive fan of their body of work, this collaboration has been especially meaningful to me,” Newman tells PEOPLE, calling them both "allies" and a “power couple.”

“Not only are they incredibly talented, they are as much fun and playful to work with as you'd imagine."

Sullivan, who didn’t meet McCarthy in person until she appeared in the WeHo Pride Parade June 4, agrees. “I was down on my corner,” he remembers. “And she finally came down in this open car with the balloons behind it and everything else. And I just walked right out in the street into the parade.

“And she went, ‘Oh my God, Tim!’ And she stopped the parade,” he remembers with a laugh.

McCarthy and Falcone tell PEOPLE that they consulted with the Relighting Candles filmmaking team by “only offering ideas in when they felt warranted… We gave them some guidance on the rough cuts and encouraged them to keep exploring the material.”

The producing duo also became close enough to their film’s subject to enjoy his products. While Falcone claims that “all of Tim’s candles are excellent,” he does admit to having a favorite. “As a child of the ’70s, I’m a sucker for sandalwood.”

“I have different favorites depending on my mood,” adds McCarthy. “But Havana is definitely always a winner for me.”

As for Sullivan, he trusts the tastes of his clientele — which include Diana Ross, Tom Ford and Elton John. “Our gardenia is, like, magic for people,” he says. “My clients tell me how much they love that stuff. I kind of tend to go with what they like after 25 years.”

Relighting Candles: The Tim Sullivan Story will screen at the 41st annual Outfest Los Angeles on June 16.

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