British Council Logo UK Films Database
Project Detail

White Lightnin'

Synopsis

Deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia, where every man owns a gun and a moonshine still, in a battered trailer, abides living legend Jesco White, 'the dancing outlaw'. As a boy Jesco was in and out of reform school and the insane asylum for taking drugs, stealing lighter fluid and for his wild behaviour. To keep him out of trouble, his daddy D-Ray taught him the art of mountain dancing – a frenzied version of tap dancing to wild country banjo music. After his daddy’s murder at the hands of a pair of drunken rednecks, the crazy but charismatic Jesco out on his daddy’s shoes, danced his way round the bars of the county where he met the love of his life, Cilla, who happened to be twice his age and half his height. The odd couple tried to settle down but tortured by the thought of his daddy’s killers still at large, Jesco’s demons resurfaced. This is his story.

Details

Year
2009
Type of project
Features
Running time
90 mins
Format
35mm
Director
Dominic Murphy 1st Feature
Producer
Eddy Moretti, Shane Smith, Suza Horvat, Igor A Nola, Robert Bevan, Samantha Horley
Co-Producer
Eddy Moretti, Shane Smith, Suza Horvat, Igor A Nola, Robert Bevan, Samantha Horley
Editor
Sam Sneade
Screenwriter
Shane Smith, Eddy Moretti, based on an original story by Dominic Murphy, Shane Smith
Director of Photography
Tim Maurice-Jones
Production Designer
Ivo Hušnjak
Sound
Paddy Owen
Composer
Nick Zinner
Principal cast
Edward Hogg, Carrie Fisher, Muse Watson, Owen Campbell

Genre

Drama

Categories

Fiction

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Film & Music Entertainment

142 Charing Cross Road
London

Sales Company

The Salt Company International

2nd Floor, Unit 19
Tileyard Studios
Tileyard Road
London
N7 9AH

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Cassy and Jude Cassy and Jude

Director: Dominic Murphy

Year: 2012

About twin sisters faced with separation after one gets married.

Literary Adaption Drama
Chork Chork

Director: Shane Meadows

Year: 2026

Set and shot along the East coast of England, from Kent through Lincolnshire, to Scotland, CHORK follows fifteen-year-old Kit and eleven-year-old Ani as they leave their foster home and trek across the coastline in hopes of a brighter future. With the police in pursuit and a national search underway, Kit must use all her determination and wits to protect Ani and fulfil their mission.

Drama
Black Church Bay Black Church Bay

Director: Rhys Marc Jones

Year: 2026

In a remote Welsh coastal village, the disappearance of an openly-gay sixth form student disrupts the delicate balance of local life for one deputy head teacher, exposing long-buried secrets and threatening to tear the community apart.

Drama