Antony Hickling
Antony Hickling is an English Independent film maker, actor and writer. He became a French citizen in 2018.
Biography
Antony Hickling was born in South Africa, Johannesburg the son of an Indian father and English mother. At a young age he returned to the United Kingdom and the family eventually settled in Greater Manchester. He later trained as an actor at Manchester University after which he moved to London to pursue an acting career.After numerous years of working in theatre he moved to France and went on to study for his master's degree then doctorate in Arts of the Stage at Paris 8 University, under the direction of professor Claude Amey, his main focus on "Queer Arts". During this time he participated in workshops with companies and practitioners such as The Living Theatre with Judith Malina, Tage Larsen from Odin Teatret, Antonio Araujo, Lionel Soukaz, Jacques Clancy, Jack Waltzer & Michele Kokosowski.
After several years of study he left his doctorate unfinished to pursue a career in cinema and went on to direct films related to his research on Queer. His films have been screened at LGBTQ film festivals worldwide. From 2013-2016 he was a programmer and on the board of directors for the LGBTQ film festival Chéries-Chéris, Paris and in 2015 he co-founded the production company Hickling & Allen Films.
He continues to work as an actor specialising in voice over and has provided voices in advertising, video games, cartoons and animation movies.
Films
Hickling's films are characterized by religious symbolism, metaphor and explicit sexual representations, often blending the boundaries between surrealism and realism. His style intertwines theatrical genres, freely crossing from drama to dance and transcending traditions of individual forms. The work incorporates equally performance art, poetry & painting. The Trilogy: Little Gay Boy, Where Horses Go To Die and Frig are of an autobiographical nature and Frig marks the end of what Hickling has called the first chapter.Selected filmography
Director
- Birth 1, Birth 2 Birth 3
- Q.J,
- Little Gay Boy
- The End Of Cruising by Todd Verow
- One Deep Breath
- P.D,
- Where Horses Go To Die
- Frig
Film Festivals
Festival of films Gays & Lesbien Paris, France FFGLP 2010. Gay et Lesbien film festival of Turin, Italy 2015. Mix Brasil Festival of Sexual Diversity 2014. Porn Film Festival Berlin 2013 & 2014 Germany. Festival Désir..Désirs Tour, France 2013. The International Film Festival of Uruguay 2013. LesGaiCineMad Madrid International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Madrid, Spain 2013. Iris Prize Wales, UK 2014. Kashish MIQFF Mumbai, India 2012. Durban Gay & Lesbian film festival S.Africa 2013. BFI Flare London, U.K 2013. TimiShorts Romania 2014. Cinemarge Bordeaux, France 2014 & 2015. Next Film festival Romania 2014. Queer Lisboa 2014 & 2013, Portugal. Zinegoak Bilboa, Spain 2014 & 2015. TLV Fest Israel 2013. Merlinka festival, Serbia 2013. Cinepride Film festival, Nantes, France 2015. In&Out: 6e Festival Gay et Lesbien of Nice, France 2014. Festival Only Porn, Lavoir Public, Lyon, France 2013. MIX Copenhagen 2014. Padova Pride Village, Italy 2014. Rio Festival of Gay Cinema 2015, Rio de Janeiro. Hannover Queer Film Festival, Germany 2016. Polychromes Nice-Marseille, France 2016. Queer Lisboa, Portugal 2016. L'Etrange Films Festival Forum des Images, Paris, France 2016. Chéries-Chéris 2016 MK2 Paris, France. Galerie Michèle Chomette, Paris, France 2017. Zinegoak Bilbao, Spain International LGBT Film Festival 2017. Thessaloniki International LGBTQ Film Festival, Greece 2017. Festival Les Hérault du Cinéma et de la Télé, Le Cap d'Agde, France 2017. MIX Mexico Festival de Cine y Video 2017. Cine-Pride l'Association Homogène, le Mans, France 2017. CAC La Traverse, Centre d'art contemporain d'Alfortville, France 2017. Festival cultural de diversidad sexual y género, Mexico 2017. Les Bisqueers Roses, Reins, France 2017. Bucharest Film Awards, Romania 2017. Zinegoak Bilboa, Spain 2018. TLVFest Tel Aviv Cinematheque, Israel 2018. L'Etrange Films Festival Forum des Images, Paris, France 2018. MIX Mexico Festival de Cine y Video 2018. Traum-Kino, Kiel, Germany 2018. Berlin Porn Film Festival, Germany 2018. BIG!ff - Bari International Gender film festival, Italy 2018. Rio Festival de Gênero & Sexualidade no Cinema 2018, Brasil. Videopride de Arcópoli, Museo La Neomudejar, Madrid 2018. Festival cultural de diversidad sexual y género, Cuernavaca, Mexico 2018. Chéries-Chéris 2018 MK2 Paris, France 2018. Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival, Switzerland 2018. The International Queer Film Festival Merlinka or Merlinka festival, Belgrade, Serbia 2019. Queer Zagreb, Perforacije Festival Zagreb, Croatia 2019. The Porn Film Festival Vienna, Austria 2019. Hacker Porn Film Festival-No Gender No Border, Rome, Italy 2019. The IV DIGO – Goias Sexual diversity and gender international Film Festival, Brazil 2019. ShanghaiPRIDE Film Festival, Shanghai, China, 2019. Exhibition "Champs d'amours, 100 ans de cinéma arc-en-ciel", at the Hôtel de Ville, Paris, France June 2019. BU Festival transfemminista Queer, Genoa, Italy 2019.
8th Muestra Internacional de Cine Queer de la Cineteca Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, Mexico, June 2019. Semana Rainbow, A Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brasil 2019. Playa del Carmen International Queer Film Festival, Mexico, Nov 2019. L'Etrange Film Festival, Forum des Images, Paris, France, Sept 2019.
Chéries-Chéris Nov 2019, MK2 Paris, France. DIGO – Goias Sexual diversity and gender international Film Festival, Brazil 2020. Semana Rainbow, A Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brasil 2020. TLVFest, Tel Aviv’s International LGBT Film Festival, Israel, Sept 2020. OutfestPeru Festival de Cine Gay, Lésbico, Trans, Bi, Republic of Peru, July 2020.
Film Festival Focus, Jury & Conference
- Jury, TGLFF, Torino Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Italy 2015
- Jury & Focus, Timi Shorts- Timișoara, Romania 2015
- Jury, Chéries-Chéris Paris, France 2012
- Jury, Serile Filmului Gay International Film Festival 2012, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
- Round table discussion with Randal Kleiser, about the current state of contemporary LGBTQI cinéma for the Champs-Élysées Film Festival, Paris Paris 2017
- Focus on his work at BIG!ff - Bari International Gender film festival Italy 2018, sponsored by Apulia Film Commission Italy.
- Focus on his work at Rio Festival de Gênero & Sexualidade no Cinema 2018
- Focus on his work at the festival cultural de diversidad sexual y género, Cuernavaca, Mexico 2018.
- Focus on his work at Chéries-Chéris MK2, Paris, France 2018
- Hybrida International colloquium on gender and sexuality perspectives in contemporary Francophone artistic-literary creation University of Valencia 2018
- Focus on his work at Queer Zagreb, Perforacije Festival Zagreb, Croatia 2019
- Jury, Sadique-master film festival, Paris 2019
- Focus on his work at The IV DIGO – Goias Sexual diversity and gender international Film Festival, Brazil 2019.
- Focus on his work for Semana Rainbow, A Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Brasil 2019
- Carte Blanche for the 25th edition of L'Etrange Film Festival, Forum des Images, Paris, France 2019
- Retrospective & Masterclass at The International Queer Film Festival Merlinka or Merlinka festival, Belgrade, Serbia 2019
- Jury & Masterclass, Zinegoak, Bilbao International Film Festival Spain, 2020
- Retrospective TLVFest, Tel Aviv’s International LGBT Film Festival, Israel, Sept 2020.
Cinema Release
- Little Gay Boy Oct 2015 Paris at Saint-André-des-Arts
- Where Horses Go To Die Jan 2017 Paris at Saint-André-des-Arts
- Frig 2018 Paris at Saint-André-des-Arts
DVD
- Little Gay Boy, 2013 Harmattan, France, Tongariro Films Poland 2013, Cinema Uno Mexico, Optimale France, Open Reel Italy
- Boys on Film X, 2013 Pecadillo Pictures, UK
- One Deep Breath, 2015 Optimale, France, Open Reel Italy, Cinema Uno Mexico
- Par-Courts Gay 5, PD, 2016 Optimale, France
- Where Horses Go To Die, 2017 Optimale, France
- Male Shorts: International V1, PD, 2018 Breaking Glass Pictures, USA
- Frig, 2019 Optimale, France
Awards and nominations
- One Deep Breath Best experimental feature at Zinegoak film festival in Bilboa 2015
- Holy Thursday – Special mention from the Jury. Chéries-Chéris 2013
- Special Mention for his work as a director at Rio FICG 2015 for Little Gay Boy & One Deep Breath
- Nominated for "Queer Arts prize" for Queer Lisboa 2016 for Where Horses Go To Die
- Nominated for "Best experimental feature" Zinegoak International LGBTQ Film Festival, Spain, 2017 for Where Horses Go To Die
- Nominated for "Best Feature, Best Director & Best Actor " Bucharest Film Awards, Romania, 2017 for Where Horses Go To Die
- Nominated for "Best Narrative Feature" TLVFest Tel Aviv Cinematheque, Israel 2018 for FRIG
- Nominated for "Best Feature" Rio Festival de Gênero & Sexualidade no Cinema 2018, Brasil for Where Horses Go To Die & FRIG
- Nominated for "Best Feature Film" Berlin Porn Film Festival, Berlin 2018, for FRIG
- Nominated for "Best International Feature" Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival, Switzerland 2018, for FRIG
- Nominated for "Best Feature Film" Hacker Porn Film Festival-No Gender No Border, Rome, Italy 2019, for FRIG
- The Trilogy receives the "Christian Petermann award" for an innovative work. “For his courage and determination. Controversial scenarios expressed through music, dance and daring “ At the IV DIGO – Goias Sexual diversity and gender international Film Festival, Brazil 2019