Synopsis
An empathetic stripper plays therapist to the many damaged clientele and co-workers who frequent the popular Anywhere Bar.
JamesWorks Entertainment’s Angel of Anywhere stars Briana Evigan (Step Up Movie 2: The Streets, Sorority Row) as Michelle, Ser’Darius Blain (When The Game Stands Tall, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) as Brian, David A. Gregory (“One Life to Live,” “The Good Fight”) as D.C., Nihan Gur (“Westworld,” “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders”) as Alexx in Wonderland, Adam Carr (“The Call Room”) as Drunk Patron, Krystal Conway as Bartender, and introducing Axel Rockham as Angel.
Winner of Best Narrative Short at the 2018 Macon Film Festival, screening at nearly twenty global festivals, including the Academy Award qualifying Hollyshorts and Sidewalk Film Festivals, Angel of Anywhere is directed by James Kicklighter (Desires of the Heart), written by Casey Nelson & Kate Murdoch (The Last Treasure Hunt) and produced by Beau Turpin (Beneath The Leaves)
- Director · Producer
- James Kicklighter
- Writers
- Kate Murdoch, Casey Nelson
- Producers
- Beau Turpin, James Kicklighter
- Cinematographer
- Jonathan Pope
- Production Designer
- Christopher Cullen
- Editor
- James Kicklighter
- Composer
- Nicolas Repetto
Videos
Press
“JBN Journalist Mark Johnson talks with filmmaker JAMES KICKLIGHTER.”
“It goes to some very deep, personal places, with a very intelligent script.”
“Over 1000 people attended the week long event which featured over 15 panels and workshops taught by nearly 50 of the top minds and talents working in the industry today, including Writing & Directing a Short as Proof of Concept with Rachel Goldberg (Director, American Horror Story), Elyes Gabel (Filmmaker, Actor; Game of Thrones, World War Z, Interstellar, Scorpion), and James Kicklighter (Director).”
“Don’t be turned off by the headline, this is a very impressive dramatic short film. Angel of Anywhere is an award-winning short directed by James Kicklighter that has been playing at festivals this year.”
“An exercise in near flawless design and execution, I simply can’t stress enough how excellently this production flows onscreen. From the technical to the acting. It’s all really top notch.”
“Director James Kicklighter serves up another winning film with Angel of Anywhere… while you may be thinking you’re in for some shallow, pointless cinematic short you should think again. [The film] is proof positive that he continues to grow as a filmmaker and challenge both himself and his audiences.”
“A deftly written, intelligently executed, deeply human, dramatic exploration into the very heart of what it means to have the desire to see things that are broken fixed.”
“James Kicklighter’s stylish short film flows effortlessly and boasts a committed cast who, in a mere 16 minutes, is able to bring depth to their roles. Angel of Anywhere is a taut examination of human insecurities, with a sprinkle of the supernatural.”
“Aside from the wonderful dialogue between the main players, Kicklighter also adorns his short film with a visual smorgasbord of filmmaking treats. There is a daring to the craft that does not let the central themes do all of the heavy lifting.”
“Briana Evigan, who also starred in a couple of Step Up films, as well as Sorority Row and as Sonja in the From Dusk Till Dawn series brings some gravitas to the production and is very strong in her performance as Michelle.”
Gallery
Director's Notes
Early in pre-production, one of our collaborators told me Angel of Anywhere was going to be like Frank Capra made a stripper film. I laughed, then I wrote it down, because it was the exact sentence I’d been trying to find for six months.
The film is about a man named Angel who works at a place called the Anywhere Bar. He takes off his clothes for a living, but the real work happens between songs. People sit down across from him and tell him things they haven’t told anyone else. He listens. He fixes a lightbulb. He tries, inside the limits of a shift and a room and a body, to make a stranger feel less alone.
That’s the whole movie. And that’s why I wanted to make it.
I’ve always been drawn to people whose job description hides what they actually do. The waitress who is really the neighborhood’s social worker. The barber who is really the confessor. The bartender who is really the therapist. The strip club sounded like an unlikely setting for that story, which was the point. Kate Murdoch and Casey Nelson’s script understood that the more improbable the sanctuary, the more honest the confession. Our job was to give that confession a room, and a light, and a patient camera.
We shot the back room in cold blue, almost empty, and kept Angel in it at his most exposed. That was deliberate. I wanted the architecture of the film to mirror what he actually does: strip away, until only the true thing is left. The one-take opening, the lightbulb scene, the way the music bleeds through the walls, none of it is decoration. It’s all the same question. What happens to a person who spends his life absorbing other people’s pain? Who catches him when he falls?
I grew up in a town of 123 people in south Georgia. I know what it’s like to be someone’s only mirror. I know the quiet cost of being the one who listens. Angel of Anywhere is a love letter to everybody who has ever been that person, whether they meant to be or not, and it asks a question I’m still asking in my work today: is empathy sustainable, or does it eventually use the person providing it up?
— James Kicklighter
Process
- Distribution Delivery Metadata Distribution 2017
This is the delivery metadata sheet for Angel of Anywhere, the document distributors use to populate electronic program guides, technical specs, and rights records. Title, synopsis, cast, crew,…
- Distribution Cue Sheet Distribution 2017
This is the official music cue sheet for Angel of Anywhere, the document distributors and performing rights organizations need to track every piece of music in the film.…
- Director’s Notes Sound Design Notes Post Production 2017
Angel of Anywhere lives or dies on how we hear it. The film's premise is sensory before it's narrative: Angel moves through the world with earbuds in, and…
- Script Script Development 2017
Angel of Anywhere started from a concept developed by Kate Murdoch and Casey Nelson, built around Axel Rockham's real experiences. What pulled me in was one structural choice…
- Locations Yucca Supermarket Pre Production 2017
The grocery store scene in Angel of Anywhere is the film's first sequence shot in daylight, the first time the club isn't audible somewhere underneath the frame, and…
- Shotlist Shotlist Pre Production 2017
This is the production shot list for Angel of Anywhere, broken down scene by scene across two shooting days at the Anywhere Bar. Every shot specifies the lens,…
- Casting Briana Evigan Pre Production 2017
This is the offer letter I wrote to Briana Evigan for the role of Michelle. I sent it directly through our casting director, Jessica Sherman, because Jessica wanted…
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FAQ
Common questions about this project — production approach, themes, where to watch, and creative decisions.
What is Angel of Anywhere about?
Angel of Anywhere is a 16-minute short film about an empathetic male stripper named Angel who works at a club called the Anywhere Bar. Between performances, he becomes an unofficial therapist to his damaged clientele and co-workers, listening to their stories and absorbing their pain. The film is a quiet character study about empathy as labor, the dignity of dismissed professions, and what it costs to be the person everyone confides in.
Who directed Angel of Anywhere?
James Kicklighter directed the film. The screenplay was written by Kate Murdoch and Casey Nelson, the writing team behind The Last Treasure Hunt. The film was produced by Beau Turpin (Nuremberg).
Who stars in the film?
The film introduces Axel Rockham as Angel and stars Briana Evigan (Step Up 2: The Streets, Sorority Row) as Michelle and Ser'Darius Blain (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, When the Game Stands Tall) as Brian. The supporting cast includes David A. Gregory (One Life to Live, The Good Fight) as D.C., Nihan Gur (Westworld), Adam Carr, and Krystal Conway.
Where was the film shot?
Angel of Anywhere was shot on location in Los Angeles at the historic Pig n' Whistle on Hollywood Boulevard, right in front of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Anywhere Bar set was designed to function as a real working environment, with the back room sequences staged in deliberately minimalist cold blue light to mirror the emotional vulnerability of the characters.
What awards has the film won?
Angel of Anywhere won Best Narrative Short at the 2018 Macon Film Festival and screened at nearly twenty global festivals, including the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival and Sidewalk Film Festival, the Jaipur International Film Festival, the Catalina Film Festival, the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema, and the Four Seasons Film Festival in London.
Where can I watch Angel of Anywhere?
The film was distributed domestically by Hewes Pictures on ShortsTV and was acquired by the digital platform Omeleto in 2019, where it reached an audience of over four million subscribers. It is currently available to stream on multiple platforms.
How long is the film?
Angel of Anywhere runs approximately 16 minutes.
Is the film explicit?
Angel of Anywhere is set in a strip club and includes brief, non-graphic depictions of the work environment. The film treats Angel's profession with dignity and is far more interested in the emotional intimacy between characters than in physical performance. The intent is character study, not provocation.
What is the visual style of the film?
The film is known for its bold cinematographic choices, including a one-take opening sequence following Angel into the club, a use of cold blue light in the back-room confessional scenes, and what critics have described as a careful balance of "concept, structure, and execution." Reviewers have called the visual language a "smorgasbord of filmmaking treats."
What inspired the film?
Director James Kicklighter has described being drawn to people whose job description hides what they actually do — the bartender who is really the confessor, the waitress who is really the neighborhood social worker. The film is a love letter to the quiet caretakers in unlikely places, and a meditation on the question of who takes care of the caretaker.