James Kicklighter is an American film producer, writer, and director from the small village of Bellville, Georgia.
He was recognized by Heather Huhman's [1] series in the National Edition of Examiner.com as one of the Top CEO's Under 25 in America. He has served as Program Director of the National Student Leadership Conference on Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of California at Berkeley [2][3] and Producer for "In True Fashion,",[4] a non-profit based in Los Angeles sponsored by high-end boutique JAMAH and Virgin America,[5] promoting entrepreneurship among high school students.
He began his career at 18, producing That Guy: the Legacy of Dub Taylor, interviewing the late actress Dixie Carter, rocker John Mellencamp, director David Zucker, actor Buck Taylor, among many others.[6][7] He wrote a lengthy blog post describing his experience with Carter after her death in April 2010.[8] 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?".[9][10]
During his studies at Georgia Southern University, he kicked off a decade-long celebration of the Golden Age of Radio for the Broadcast Education Association.[11][12][13] While directing the film that became Theater of the Mind, he met Edith Ivey, who starred in his acclaimed short film, The Car Wash.[14] Ivey, a member of the SAG Board of Directors and first recipient of SAG's Howard Keel Award,[15] has hailed Kicklighter as "one of the best young film director, writers to come out of the South."
The Car Wash has won numerous awards and was mentioned in the Rome-News Tribune,[16] including Audience Choice Award at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth,[17][18] the largest youth film festival in the world.
Followed,[19][20][21][22][23] based on the story from Hugo-award winning author Will McIntosh[24], won the 2011 Audience Choice Award at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth, and has been picked up by Dragon*Con, The Rome International Film Festival, Central Florida Festival, among numerous special screenings.
His 2012 film "Final Acts" was a finalist in the Macon Shorts Competition, part of the Gateway Macon Initiative. According to the website, entries came from Japan, London, Indonesia, Los Angeles, New York, Florida and Kansas, as well as a significant number from filmmakers from within Georgia. The field was then narrowed to eighteen contestants who were asked to submit scripts for their proposed films[25]. The film won Grand Prize.[26].
He is an alumnus of Georgia Southern University's Epsilon Omega chapter of Delta Tau Delta.[27][28]