LIGHTS. CAMERA. ACTION. | South Dakota native’s breakthrough movie leans on family story
On a Mountain in Maine symbolic of Andrew Kightlinger's journey through Mount Rushmore State on his way to Tinsel Town
When 12-year-old Donn Fendler found himself lost for eight days on a mountain in Maine, his unlikely survival took resilience, smarts and an ability to adapt.
Nearly nine decades later, that story is being told on silver screens across the country, and in South Dakota. Lost on a Mountain in Maine will debut in at least 16 theaters this week.
But the Sylvester Stallone-produced, coming-of-age survival film that doubles as a father-son tearjerker isn’t why it’s grabbing headlines in the Mount Rushmore State. Rather, the journey of director Andrew Kightlinger and the influence that his South Dakota roots have on the 38-year-old’s breakthrough movie is.
It’s a story that crosses oceans and deserts, and oddly enough finds its crux in South Dakota. It’s an adventure story where Kightlinger is the leading man.
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