James Kicklighter

James Kicklighter (born June 26, 1988) is an American film director, producer, and writer from the small village of Bellville, Georgia, United States.

James Kicklighter
Born
James Barton Kicklighter

(1988-06-26) June 26, 1988
Claxton, Georgia. United States
Alma materGeorgia Southern University
Years active2006–present

Biography

He was recognized by Heather Huhman's series in the National Edition of Examiner.com as one of the Top CEO's Under 25 in America. Outside of his professional work, he serves as a mentor and documentary advisor for "Ambition", a non-profit based in Los Angeles sponsored by high-end boutique JAMAH, promoting entrepreneurship among high school students.[1] JAMAH named their messenger bag, The Kicklighter, in his honor.[2]

Career

He began his career at 18, as co-executive producer[3] of That Guy: The Legacy of Dub Taylor,[4] interviewing the late actress Dixie Carter, rocker John Mellencamp, director David Zucker, actor Buck Taylor.[5][6][7] In an interview with Seattle Youth Media, he stated "the great thing about living today is that anybody can make a film. So if you want to make a film right now, you can run out there with a camera, edit it and produce that film, but the question is, can you tell a story?".[8]

During his studies at Georgia Southern University, he, under the supervision of a professor and along with a fellow student,[9] helped to kick off a decade-long celebration of the Golden Age of Radio for the Broadcast Education Association.[10] While directing the film that became Theater of the Mind, he met Edith Ivey, who starred in his short film, The Car Wash.

The Car Wash has won numerous awards and was mentioned in the Rome-News Tribune,[11] including Audience Choice Award at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth,[12] the largest youth film festival in the world.[13]

Followed,[14] based on the story by Will McIntosh, was one of 24 films to win an Audience Choice Award at the 2011 National Film Festival for Talented Youth,[15] and has been picked up by Dragon Con, The Rome International Film Festival, Garden State Film Festival and Central Florida Festival, with international press coverage.[16][17][18][19] Ain't it Cool News gave the film a positive notice for his direction, stating "Directed with a delicate and gentle hand, FOLLOWED is probably the most unexpected horror surprise I’ve seen in quite a while."[20]

His 2012 film Final Acts was a finalist in the Macon Shorts Competition, part of the Gateway Macon Initiative. The film won Grand Prize.[21]

His first feature film was the international crossover Desires of the Heart, which shot in Savannah, Georgia and India in 2012 with numerous releases to film festivals in 2013 and 2014.[22][23][24][25] The film was released in theaters across India in November 2015.[26][27]

Film Threat stated, "The cinematography in the film matches its narrative’s expansive ambitions with gorgeous visions that turn both Georgia and India into almost permanent states of postcard-friendly imagery,",[28] and The Independent Critic noted Desires of the Heart as "a beautiful and involving film featuring two fine performances by its leads who are tasked with bringing to life a film that is both intelligent and fantastic, no small task." [29]

Kicklighter is developing a biopic on football legend Erk Russell,[30][31][32][33][34][35] who started the football program at Kicklighter's Alma Mater, Georgia Southern University, which named him to their inaugural "40 Under 40" Alumni list.[36]

In 2015, he released the documentary A Few Things About Cancer, called "an intimate look at a newlywed couple’s quarterlife crisis through stage four cancer.".[37] The film won Best Short Documentary at the 2015 FirstGlance Los Angeles Film Festival.[38]

His music video "Branches" for solo artist Shel Bee won Best Music Video at the 2016 Garden State Film Festival[39]

After the 2016 Garden State Film Festival, Kicklighter directed the documentary "Digital Edition," a profile on the future of journalism framed through The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which debuted to critical acclaim.[40][41][42][43]

He was the Virginia filmmaker for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.[44][45][46]

In 2017, he directed Angel of Anywhere, starring Briana Evigan, Ser'Darius Blain (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), David A. Gregory, and introducing Axel Roldos.[47]"Angel of Anywhere". Jameskicklighter.com.</ref>

He spoke about his start in filmmaking at the Director's Guild of America[48] and the importance of networking [49] in March 2018.

Kicklighter directed the feature documentary The Sound of Identity, profiling Opera’s Lucia Lucas performance of Don Giovanni at the Tulsa Opera for 2020 release. [50][51][52]

gollark: It's that sort of bizarre requirement/text thing which make text rendering the nightmare it is today.
gollark: 230 years of uranium is quite a lot, there's loads of tech we could be using but aren't to use it better, and there's also thorium.
gollark: <@670756765859708965> There's a mod called NuclearCraft.
gollark: It's too far away to be very useful.
gollark: Consider the difficulty of having to collect then dispose of/recycle "spent" solar panels ~30 years after deployment.

References
  1. "Our Visual Team – In True Fashion". Intruefashion.org. Archived from the original on 2012. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  2. "Messengers". Jamah.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-12. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  3. "Video biography of character film actor premiers at museum | The Augusta Chronicle". Chronicle.augusta.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  4. "Archive.is". Archived from the original on 2012-08-02.
  5. "February/March 2011 by Macon Magazine". Issuu.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  6. "James Kicklighter: Camera with a Conscience". Scribd.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  7. "The Curious Case of James Kicklighter: Painfully Young Filmmaker on the Rise | Antics in Candyland". Anticsincandyland.wordpress.com. 2011-02-18. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  8. "NFFTY 2010 on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  9. "AFTRA Atlanta Members Interviewed for Student Doc". AFTRA Magazine. AFTRA. Spring 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
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  13. "Our Organization". Nffty.org. Archived from the original on 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  14. "Zombies take over as movie begins filming in Macon | The Telegraph". Macon.com. 2010-12-12. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
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  17. "AICN HORROR looks at new horrors: FOLLOWED Short Film! CANNIBAL: THE MUSICAL 13th (or so)". Aintitcool.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  18. "Interview with Director of "Followed" - James Kicklighter". Blank Stage Productions. 2012-01-09. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  19. "Might of the Living Dead | Georgia Music". Georgiamusicmag.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
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  24. "'All My Children's' Alicia Minshew Nabs Lead in 'Desires of the Heart' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  25. "US actors to shoot in India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  26. "Desires of the Heart Releasing on 6th Nov in India". Enewsodia.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  27. "Odisha-born producer's Hollywood film 'Desires of the Heart' released". In.news.yahoo.com. 2015-11-06. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
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  29. ""Desires of the Heart" an Ambitious, Involving Film". The Independent Critic. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
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  31. Hunker'd Down by Bernie (2012-09-02). "Bernie's Dawg Blawg: Erk Russell on the big screen". Berniesdawgblawg.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  32. Dal Cannady. "Movie on former GSU coach excites friends, former players - WTOC-TV: Savannah, Beaufort, SC, News, Weather & Sports". Wtoc.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  33. "Erk Russell Film Live Announcement at Paulson Stadium". YouTube. 2010-02-05. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  34. "Georgia Southern Alumni to Produce Film on Legendary Coach Erk Russell | Newsroom | Georgia Southern University". News.georgiasouthern.edu. 2012-09-03. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
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  43. "Digital Edition". indyred. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  44. "Entertainment Weekly". 2016.
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  50. "Sacramento Opera Star Lucia Lucas Pushes Industry Boundaries — and Beyond". KQED. 2019-09-15. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  51. Desk, BWW News. "LUCIA'S VOICE Documentary To Feature First Transgender Lead In U.S. Opera". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
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