White Lightning (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

White Lightning follows 18-year-old Kentucky sprinter King Combest as he attempts to break his father’s long-standing high school record. The documentary places that athletic challenge alongside a larger effort to change his family’s relationship with crime, addiction, poverty and limited opportunity.

White Lightning is a 2026 documentary about ambition, family history and the possibility of a different future. At its center is King Combest, an 18-year-old sprinter pursuing a record once held by his father, Casey “White Lightning” Combest.

The athletic goal is closely tied to a broader personal one: becoming the first man in the Combest family to earn a college degree and move beyond a multigenerational legacy shaped by drugs, jail and poverty.

White Lightning movie details

Story without spoilers

The film follows King Combest as he trains and competes with the aim of breaking his father’s 25-year-old national high school record. Casey was once an elite sprinter with Olympic prospects, but a marijuana arrest disrupted his career and eventually led to work as a janitor on the margins of society.

As King pursues the record, White Lightning frames the race as more than a test of speed. His progress is connected to questions of inheritance, opportunity and whether athletic success can help him establish a new direction for his family. The documentary’s Kentucky setting and multigenerational focus give the story a distinctly American South context.

What to expect

White Lightning is presented as a feature-length sports and biographical documentary with an underdog focus. Its central subject is sprinting, but the supplied premise also emphasizes second chances, family legacy and the social pressures surrounding poverty, addiction and crime.

Viewers can expect the film to follow a young athlete’s record-breaking pursuit while placing that ambition within his relationship to his father’s past and his own educational goals. The tone is described as gritty and funny, with the story balancing athletic competition against a serious family history.

Cast and creative team

White Lightning is directed by Mark Anders. The documentary centers on 18-year-old sprinter King Combest and his father, Casey Combest, also known as “White Lightning.” No additional cast or writing credits are supplied.

Release and production context

White Lightning is a United States production from 21 Raccoons. It is listed as a 2026 release with a release date of October 23, 2026, and a runtime of 1 hour and 36 minutes. The film is classified as a feature-length documentary. No spoken-language information is supplied.

Production companies: 21 Raccoons

Movies Dock view

White Lightning connects a high school sprinter’s pursuit of a historic record with a family’s effort to break from a difficult past. Its focus on athletics, education and generational change gives the documentary a clear human framework without reducing the story to competition alone.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb