James Kicklighter

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James Kicklighter
Writer, Director James Kicklighter.jpg
Born (1988-06-26) June 26, 1988 (age 36)
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]

Biography

Kicklighter grew up in Bellville, Georgia.[2][3] He was inspired to take up storytelling as a coping mechanism after his father died from SARS when he was 12 years old.[2][4] As a youth, he entered his films into film festivals including as The National Film Festival for Talented Youth.[1] He graduated from Georgia Southern University with a degree in Public Relations.[1][2]

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.[5] JAMAH named The Kicklighter bag in his honor.[6] He has credited Bobby Zarem for being a mentor in his life.[7]

He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.[8]

Career

He began his career at 18, as co-executive producer[9] of That Guy: The Legacy of Dub Taylor,[10] interviewing the late actress Dixie Carter, rocker John Mellencamp, director David Zucker, actor Buck Taylor.[11][12][13] 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?".[14]

During his studies at Georgia Southern University, he, under the supervision of a professor and along with a fellow student,[15] helped to kick off a decade-long celebration of the Golden Age of Radio for the Broadcast Education Association.[16] While directing the film that became Theater of the Mind, he met Edith Ivey, who starred in his short film, The Car Wash.[17]

The Car Wash has won numerous awards and was mentioned in the Rome-News Tribune,[18] including Audience Choice Award at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth,[19] the largest youth film festival in the world.[20]

Followed,[21] 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,[22] 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.[23][24][25][26] 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."[27]

His 2012 film Final Acts was a finalist in the Macon Shorts Competition, part of the Gateway Macon Initiative. The film won Grand Prize.[28]

His first feature film was the international crossover Desires of the Heart, which shot in Savannah, Georgia and Rajasthan, India[2] in 2012 with numerous releases to film festivals in 2013 and 2014.[29][30][31][32] Jitenda Mishra was one of the film's producers.[33][34] The film was released in theaters across India in November 2015.[35][36] It won Best Foreign Film at the La Femme Festival in Los Angeles.[37][38][39] It was also screened at the Cannes Film Festival.[40]

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,",[41] 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."[42] UK Film Review wrote, "This faux saccharine surface belies a superbly written and wonderfully understated supernatural mystery, which only takes off around the halfway point of the film."[39]

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.".[43] The film won Best Short Documentary at the 2015 FirstGlance Los Angeles Film Festival.[44]

His music video "Branches" for solo artist Shel Bee won Best Music Video at the 2016 Garden State Film Festival[45]

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.[46][47][37][48] He was inspired to film the project after receiving an email from Bert Roughton, Jr., Senior Managing Editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.[49]

He was the Virginia filmmaker for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.[50][51][52] He worked with public figures such as Michelle Kwan and Miley Cyrus on material promoting the campaign.[52][1][53] His experiences during the campaign observing political processes, polarization, and changes in voting, would later inspire him to direct the film The American Question.[2]

In 2017, he directed Angel of Anywhere, starring Briana Evigan, Ser'Darius Blain, David A. Gregory, and introducing Axel Roldos.[54][55] The short film was a collaboration with director of photography Jonathan Pope and writers Kate Murdoch and Casey Nelson.[56][57][58] Kicklighter cast Roldos in the project after meeting him at an Atlanta film festival.[57] The film received positive reviews from outlets such as The Utah Film Awards,[56] The Independent Critic,[57] Film Snob Reviews,[59] and UK Film Review.[58]

He spoke about his start in filmmaking at the Directors Guild of America[60] and the importance of networking [61] 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.[62][49][63][64][65] Kicklighter and executive producers Russ Kirkpatrick and Andy Kinslow decide to collaborate on the film after meeting through the organization Tulsa Tomorrow.[3] It was distributed by Shout! Studios in North America.[64] The film also reunited Kicklighter with cinematographer Jonathan Pope.[64] Its score was provided by composer Nicolas Repetto.[66][67] It was praised by publications such as The Washington Blade,[68] Film Inquiry,[69] and Film Threat.[70] It received an approval rating of 91% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.[71]

Kicklighter is developing a biopic on football legend Erk Russell,[72][73][74][75][76][77] who started the football program at Kicklighter's Alma Mater, Georgia Southern University, which named him to their inaugural "40 Under 40" Alumni list.[78]

Filmography

FilmTitle Type Year Producer Writer Director Ref
That Guy: The Legacy of Dub Taylor Documentary film 2007 Yes [9][10]
Di Passaggio Documentary film 2009 Yes Yes [79][80][81]
Theater of the Mind Documentary short 2009 Yes [82][83]
The Car Wash Short film 2010 Yes Yes Yes [18][19]
Followed Short film 2011 Yes Yes [84]
Final Acts Short film 2011 Yes Yes Yes
Desires of the Heart Feature film 2013 Yes Yes [85]
A Few Things About Cancer Documentary short 2014 Yes Yes [86]
Shel Bee: Branches Music video 2015 Yes Yes Yes [45]
Atul: Emotions Music video 2015 Yes Yes Yes
Digital Edition Documentary short 2016 Yes Yes [46][47][37][48]
Angel of Anywhere Short film 2018 Yes Yes [54][56][57][58]
Every 9 Hours Short film 2019 Yes Yes [3]
The Sound of Identity Documentary film 2020 Yes [49][64]
The American Question Documentary film TBA Yes Yes Yes [3][82]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Local Stories. "Meet James Kicklighter, Film Director in Culver City - Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide". voyagela.com. Retrieved Jun 14, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b c d "Award-Winning Filmmaker James Kicklighter Directs Documentary "The Sound of Identity"". ProductionHUB.com. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  4. ^ "Meet James Kicklighter | Film Director". SHOUTOUT LA. 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  5. ^ "Our Visual Team – In True Fashion". Intruefashion.org. Archived from the original on 2012. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  6. ^ "THE KICKLIGHTER". JAMAH. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  7. ^ "After 84 Years, Good Night, Bobby Zarem".
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b "Video biography of character film actor premiers at museum | The Augusta Chronicle". Chronicle.augusta.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  10. ^ a b "Archive.is". Archived from the original on 2012-08-02.
  11. ^ "February/March 2011 by Macon Magazine". Issuu.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  12. ^ "James Kicklighter: Camera with a Conscience". Scribd.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  13. ^ "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.
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  15. ^ "AFTRA Atlanta Members Interviewed for Student Doc". AFTRA Magazine. AFTRA. Spring 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
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  24. ^ "AICN HORROR looks at new horrors: FOLLOWED Short Film! CANNIBAL: THE MUSICAL 13th (or so)". Aintitcool.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
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  29. ^ "Todd Sandler". Toddisandler.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  30. ^ "Alicia Minshew - Prism Awards 2012 Red Carpet". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
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  32. ^ "US actors to shoot in India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  33. ^ 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.
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  45. ^ a b "Garden State Film Festival 2016 Winners". Broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
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  49. ^ a b c BWW News Desk. "LUCIA'S VOICE Documentary To Feature First Transgender Lead In U.S. Opera". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  50. ^ "Entertainment Weekly". Entertainment Weekly. 2016.
  51. ^ "Hillary Clinton Campaign". Jameskicklighter.com.
  52. ^ a b "Michelle Kwan if Working for Hillary Clinton". New York. 2016.
  53. ^ "Michelle Kwan And The 1st Filming Experience With Hillary For America. | Director James Kicklighter". Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  54. ^ a b https://www.angelofanywhere.com/. Retrieved 2019-05-10. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  55. ^ "Angel of Anywhere". Jameskicklighter.com.
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  57. ^ a b c d "The Independent Critic - "Angel of Anywhere" the Latest Kicklighter Flick". theindependentcritic.com. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  58. ^ a b c Review, UK Film (2017-09-07). "Angel of Anywhere short film". UK Film Review. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  59. ^ Morgan, Melanie (2017-09-11). "Review: Angel of Anywhere". FilmSnobReviews. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  60. ^ "James Kicklighter at the DGA Director's [sic] 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.
  61. ^ "James Kicklighter on Networking in Filmmaking at the DGA — Director's [sic] Guild of America". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved Jun 14, 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
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  70. ^ "The Sound of Identity | Film Threat". 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
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  80. ^ Reddish, David. "James Kicklighter raises the curtain on a transgender opera star in 'The Sound of Identity'". Queerty. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  81. ^ 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.
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  83. ^ "Comm Arts Talk". Georgia Southern University Comm Arts Talk. Fall 2009 – via Georgia Southern University.
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  86. ^ "The Independent Critic - "A Few Things About Cancer" Hits the Festival Circuit". theindependentcritic.com. Retrieved 2022-03-30.

External links

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