World Champion climber Kai Lightner is on the road in Chattanooga to present his film at the Lookout Wild Film Festival. Kai, 15, of North Carolina, will be training at High Point Climbing on Friday night in preparation for his first adult competition next weekend.
Kai is the reigning Youth World champion and an eight-time national champion sport climber. Last year he became the first American youth World Champion since 1995.
Kai stars in “14.c,” a film which will screen at the Lookout Wild Film Festival on Saturday night. The Lookout Wild Film Festival will show a total of 59 outdoor adventure and conservation films over three days a the Memorial Auditorium Community Theater, including Kai’s film. For more information about the Lookout Wild Film Festival visit www.lookoutfilmfestival.org.
Review for 14.c:
Climbers all have a story about how they got started, and 14-year-old Kai Lighter’s introduction is particularly striking — and not only because he’s a brilliant climber. Much like Tiger Woods in golf or the Williams sisters in tennis, he could change the demographics of climbing. This film, directed by George Knowles, isn’t about race, however, it’s about family. His single mother has become his regular belay partner, one who also makes sure that he maintains straight A’s in school. It’s clear that she wants what’s best for her son, and if that means spending hours with her hands on a belay device and her neck craned upward, so be it.