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James Kicklighter

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James Kicklighter
Kicklighter in 2026.
Born (1988-06-26) June 26, 1988 (age 38)
Bellville, Georgia
Alma materGeorgia Southern University
Years active2006–present

James Kicklighter (born June 26, 1988) is an American film director, producer, and writer from Bellville, Georgia.[1][2]

Early life and education

[edit]

Kicklighter's hometown is in Bellville, Georgia.[2][3] His father died from SARS when he was 12 years old.[2][4] He graduated from Georgia Southern University with a degree in Public Relations.[1][2]

Career

[edit]

He began his career at 18, as co-executive producer[5] of That Guy: The Legacy of Dub Taylor,[6] interviewing actress Dixie Carter, rocker John Mellencamp, director David Zucker, and actor Buck Taylor.[7][8]

During his studies at Georgia Southern University, he collaborated with another student to film a documentary about the Golden Age of Radio for the Broadcast Education Association.[9][10] While directing the film that became Theater of the Mind, he met Edith Ivey, who starred in his short film, The Car Wash.[11]

The Car Wash won the Audience Choice Award at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth.[12][13]

His short film Followed,[14] based on the story by Will McIntosh, received an Audience Choice Award at the 2011 National Film Festival for Talented Youth,[15] and was screened by Dragon Con, The Rome International Film Festival, Garden State Film Festival and Central Florida Festival, with international press coverage.[16][17]

His 2012 film Final Acts was a finalist in the Macon Shorts Competition, part of the Gateway Macon Initiative. The film won Grand Prize.[18]

His first feature film was the international crossover Desires of the Heart, which was produced by Jitenda Mishra[19][20] and shot in Savannah, Georgia and Rajasthan, India in 2012.[2][21][22] It was screened at film festivals in 2013 and 2014 including the Cannes Film Festival.[23] The film was released in theaters across India in November 2015.[24][25] It received award for Best Foreign Film at the La Femme Festival in Los Angeles.[26][27][28]

In 2015, he released the documentary A Few Things About Cancer.[29] The film won Best Short Documentary at the 2015 FirstGlance Los Angeles Film Festival.[30]

His music video "Branches" for solo artist Shel Bee won Best Music Video at the 2016 Garden State Film Festival[31]

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.[32][33][26][34] He was inspired to film the project after receiving an email from Bert Roughton, Jr., Senior Managing Editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.[35]

He was the Virginia filmmaker for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.[36][37][38] He filmed content for the campaign with public figures such as Michelle Kwan.[38] He decided to direct the film The American Question after observing politics and voting during the campaign.[2]

In 2017, he directed Angel of Anywhere, starring Briana Evigan, Ser'Darius Blain, David A. Gregory, and Axel Roldos.[39][40] The project was a collaboration was a collaboration with director of photography Jonathan Pope.[41][42]

He spoke about his start in filmmaking at the Directors Guild of America[43] and the importance of networking [44] in March 2018.

Kicklighter directed the feature documentary The Sound of Identity, profiling Lucia Lucas's performance of Don Giovanni at the Tulsa Opera for 2021 release.[45][35][46] It received a rating of 91% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.[47]

Kicklighter is set to direct a biopic about athlete and coach Erk Russell,[48][49][50] who revived the football program at Georgia Southern University.[51]

Personal life

[edit]

Bag company JAMAH named The Kicklighter bag in his honor.[52] He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.[53]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Type Producer Writer Director Ref(s)
2007 That Guy: The Legacy of Dub Taylor Documentary film Yes [5][6]
2009 Di Passaggio Documentary film Yes Yes [54][55][56]
2009 Theater of the Mind Documentary short Yes [57][58]
2010 The Car Wash Short film Yes Yes Yes [59][12]
2011 Followed Short film Yes Yes [60]
2011 Final Acts Short film Yes Yes Yes
2013 Desires of the Heart Feature film Yes Yes [61]
2014 A Few Things About Cancer Documentary short Yes Yes [62]
2015 Shel Bee: Branches Music video Yes Yes Yes [31]
2015 Atul: Emotions Music video Yes Yes Yes
2016 Digital Edition Documentary short Yes Yes [32][33][26][34]
2018 Angel of Anywhere Short film Yes Yes [63][41][42]
2019 Every 9 Hours Short film Yes Yes [3]
2020 The Sound of Identity Documentary film Yes [35][64]
2024 The American Question Documentary film Yes Yes Yes [3][57]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 Local Stories (May 2018). "Meet James Kicklighter, Film Director in Culver City - Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide". voyagela.com. Retrieved Jun 14, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Berinato, Christopher. "New documentary examines first transgender singer in opera history to perform in a principal role". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved Jun 14, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Award-Winning Filmmaker James Kicklighter Directs Documentary "The Sound of Identity"". ProductionHUB.com. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  4. ↑ "Meet James Kicklighter | Film Director". SHOUTOUT LA. 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  5. 1 2 "Video biography of character film actor premiers at museum | The Augusta Chronicle". Chronicle.augusta.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  6. 1 2 "Archive.is".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. ↑ "February/March 2011 by Macon Magazine". Issuu.com. 27 January 2011. 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.
  10. ↑ "Archive.org". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15.
  11. ↑ McDougald, Mike (9 October 2010). "Southeast Georgians cross paths in a small world". Northwest Georgia News. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  12. 1 2 "National Film Festival for Talented Youth". Short Film Central. Archived from the original on 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  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.
  15. ↑ "NFFTY 2011 Award Winners". Nffty.org. Archived from the original on 2016-10-08. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  16. ↑ "AICN HORROR looks at new horrors: FOLLOWED Short Film! CANNIBAL: THE MUSICAL 13th (or so)". Aintitcool.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  17. ↑ "Might of the Living Dead | Georgia Music". Georgiamusicmag.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  18. ↑ "Archive.org". Archived from the original on 2012-03-27.
  19. ↑ OdAdmin (2022-03-21). "Jitendra Mishra selected Jury for Japan's largest film festival – KINEKO 2022". Odisha News | Odisha Breaking News | Latest Odisha News. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  20. ↑ "Odisha-born producer Jitendra Mishra to promote ten films at Cannes fest". The Indian Express. 2015-05-12. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  21. ↑ Ford, Rebecca (13 August 2012). "'All My Children's' Alicia Minshew Nabs Lead in 'Desires of the Heart' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  22. ↑ "US actors to shoot in India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  23. ↑ "Rajesh Rathi's 'Desires of the Heart' travels to Cannes Film Festival". The Indian Express. 2014-05-14. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  24. ↑ "Desires of the Heart Releasing on 6th Nov in India". Enewsodia.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  25. ↑ "Odisha-born producer's Hollywood film 'Desires of the Heart' released". In.news.yahoo.com. 2015-11-06. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  26. 1 2 3 "The Independent Critic - "Digital Edition" Follows the Changing World of Journalism". theindependentcritic.com. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  27. ↑ "Desires of the Heart review (2015)". Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  28. ↑ Tilby, Darren (2019-06-08). "Desires of the Heart review". UK Film Review. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  29. ↑ "Archive.org". Archived from the original on 2015-03-13.
  30. ↑ "2015 Los Angeles Award Winners – FirstGlance Film Festival". Firstglancefilms.com. 2014-06-20. Archived from the original on 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  31. 1 2 "Garden State Film Festival 2016 Winners". Broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  32. 1 2 "Shorts: Digital Edition (2016) | Crushed Celluloid". crushedcelluloid.com. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  33. 1 2 "Digital Edition (2016) short film review". screencritix.com. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  34. 1 2 "Digital Edition". indyred. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  35. 1 2 3 BWW News Desk. "LUCIA'S VOICE Documentary To Feature First Transgender Lead In U.S. Opera". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  36. ↑ "Entertainment Weekly". Entertainment Weekly. 2016.
  37. ↑ "Hillary Clinton Campaign". Jameskicklighter.com.
  38. 1 2 "Michelle Kwan if Working for Hillary Clinton". New York. 2016.
  39. ↑ "Angel of Anywhere". Jameskicklighter.com.
  40. ↑ "Watch: Male Stripper Short 'Angel of Anywhere' by James Kicklighter". firstshowing.net. 2018-08-14. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  41. 1 2 "The Independent Critic - "Angel of Anywhere" the Latest Kicklighter Flick". theindependentcritic.com. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  42. 1 2 Review, UK Film (2017-09-07). "Angel of Anywhere short film". UK Film Review. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  43. ↑ "James Kicklighter at the DGA Directors Guild of America on Starting a Career in Film". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved Jun 14, 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
  44. ↑ "James Kicklighter on Networking in Filmmaking at the DGA — Directors Guild of America". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved Jun 14, 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
  45. ↑ "Sacramento Opera Star Lucia Lucas Pushes Industry Boundaries — and Beyond". KQED. 2019-09-15. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  46. ↑ "Breaking Film Industry News — Awards, Acquisitions, Festival Buzz, Grants, and More". IndieWire. 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  47. ↑ The Sound of Identity, retrieved 2022-03-29
  48. ↑ "Archive.org". Archived from the original on 2012-09-05.
  49. ↑ Hunker'd Down by Bernie (2012-09-02). "Bernie's Dawg Blawg: Erk Russell on the big screen". Berniesdawgblawg.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  50. ↑ "GSU grads to produce 'Erk'". Statesboroherald.com. 2006-09-08. Retrieved 2016-09-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  51. ↑ "First Class | Georgia Southern Magazine". News.georgiasouthern.edu. 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  52. ↑ "THE KICKLIGHTER". JAMAH. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  53. ↑ Valdez, Jonah (2021-12-20). "6.2 earthquake strikes off Northern California coast, shattering windows and rattling nerves". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  54. ↑ "DI PASSAGGIO". filmthreat.com. 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  55. ↑ Reddish, David (June 2021). "James Kicklighter raises the curtain on a transgender opera star in 'The Sound of Identity'". Queerty. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  56. ↑ Lehmann, Courtney (2014-09-26). Screen Adaptations: Romeo and Juliet: A close study of the relationship between text and film. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4081-9876-6.
  57. 1 2 Rockett, Darcel (10 January 2018). "Do you share the same values as your neighbor? That's 'The American Question'". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  58. ↑ "Comm Arts Talk". Georgia Southern University Comm Arts Talk. Fall 2009 – via Georgia Southern University.
  59. ↑ "Archive.is".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  60. ↑ "Zombie film with a heart". www.statesboroherald.com. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  61. ↑ "Desires Of The Heart Review". IndyRed. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  62. ↑ "The Independent Critic - "A Few Things About Cancer" Hits the Festival Circuit". theindependentcritic.com. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  63. ↑ "Angel of Anywhere – Review – The Utah Film Festival". Archived from the original on 2017-10-15. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  64. ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (Dec 21, 2020). "Shout! Studios To Distribute Docu 'The Sound Of Identity' Spotlighting Trans Opera Star Lucia Lucas". Retrieved Jun 14, 2021.
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