Career
He was recognized by Heather Huhman"s series in the National Edition of Examiner.com as one of the Top Chief Executive Officer"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. He began his career at 18, as co-executive producer of That Guy: the Legacy of Dub Taylor, interviewing the late actress Dixie Carter, rocker John Mellencamp, director David Zucker, actor Buck Taylor.
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?". During his studies at Georgia Southern University, he, under the supervision of a professor and along with a fellow student, helped to kick off a decade-long celebration of the Golden Age of Radio for the Broadcast Education Association.
While directing the film that became Theater of the Mind, he met Edith Ivey, who starred in his short film, The Carolina Washington 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."
His 2012 film Final Acts was a finalist in the Macon Shorts Competition, part of the Gateway Macon Initiative.
His first feature film was the international crossover Desires of the Heart, which shot in Savannah, Georgia and India in Fall 2012 with numerous releases to film festivals in 2013 and 2014.
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,", 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."
Kicklighter is developing a biopic on football legend Erk Russell, who started the football program at Kicklighter"s Alma Mater, Georgia Southern University, which named him to their inaugural "40 Under 40" Alumni list. In 2015, he will release the documentary A Few Things About Cancer, called "an intimate look at a newlywed couple’s quarterlife crisis through stage four cancer.".