Annelise Hickey is a director and writer based in Naarm (Melbourne) whose work is driven by a deep interest in identity and belonging. With a distinct voice and an intuitive sense of character and tone, she creates work that feels honest, compelling and beautiful.
Her debut short film HAFEKASI, meaning “half-caste” in Tongan, premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival where it received Honourable Jury Mention for Best Short. She went on to win the Australian Emerging Director Award at the Melbourne International Film Festival, Best Short at the Australian Directors Guild Awards, and Best Direction at the St Kilda Film Festival. She was also selected for the MIFF Accelerator Lab.
Her second short, STRANGER, BROTHER, premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and is currently on the international festival circuit, including screenings at Sundance CDMX Mexico and the Sundance Indigenous Film Tour USA.
In addition to her narrative work, Annelise won an ARIA Award for her music video for Vance Joy’s Missing Piece in 2021. In 2023, she briefly shadowed director Justin Chon on the Apple TV+ series Chief of War, a historical First Nations Hawaiian epic, starring Jason Mamoa, Cliff Curtis, Temuera Morrison, and Luciane Buchanan.
She is currently developing her debut feature, a feature adaptation of her short film HAFEKASI, exploring mixed-race identity, diaspora, and the complexities of mother-daughter relationships across cultures
