James Kicklighter

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.”[43]

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.".[44] The film won Best Short Documentary at the 2015 FirstGlance Los Angeles Film Festival.[45]

His music video "Branches" for solo artist Shel Bee won Best Music Video at the 2016 Garden State Film Festival[46]

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.[47][48][37][49]He was inspired to film the project after receiving an email from Bert Roughton, Jr., Senior Managing Editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.[50]

He was the Virginia filmmaker for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.[51][52][53]He worked with public figures such as Michelle Kwan and Miley Cyrus on material promoting the campaign.[53][1][54]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.[55][56]The short film was a collaboration with director of photography Jonathan Pope and writers Kate Murdoch and Casey Nelson.[57][58][59]Kicklighter cast Roldos in the project after meeting him at an Atlanta film festival.[58]The film received positive reviews from outlets such as The Utah Film Awards,[57]The Independent Critic,[58]Film Snob Reviews,[60]and UK Film Review.[59]

He spoke about his start in filmmaking at the Directors Guild of America[61] and the importance of networking [62] 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.[63][50][64][65][66]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.[65]The film also reunited Kicklighter with cinematographer Jonathan Pope.[65]Its score was provided by composer Nicolas Repetto.[67][68]It was praised by publications such as The Washington Blade,[69]Film Inquiry,[70]and Film Threat.[71]It received an approval rating of 91% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.[72]

Kicklighter is developing a biopic on football legend Erk Russell,[73][74][75][76][77][78] who started the football program at Kicklighter's Alma Mater, Georgia Southern University, which named him to their inaugural "40 Under 40" Alumni list.[79]