Director James Kicklighter spent the first eighteen years of his life in Bellville, Georgia, population 123. Since then, he has gone on to become a multi-award winning Los Angeles-based film director and producer. His work has been recognized by the world’s press, including The Hollywood Reporter, The Times of India, Film Courage and FilmInk Australia. Kicklighter recently served as a panelist at the 2018 Oscar-qualifying Hollyshorts Film Festival, taught several filmmaking courses as an educator on Stage32.com, and his interview series with the popular YouTube channel Film Courage has nearly 200,000 views.

He resides in Los Angeles, California with his husband, Xintong, and still can't believe he gets to work across the country and around the globe.