--- name: "Scott Hicks" canonical: "https://film.one/person/scott-hicks" fi1m_id: "scott-hicks" imdb_id: "nm0382956" tmdb_id: 33433 wikidata_id: "Q951522" roles: ["Director"] born: "4 March 1953" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "director" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-17T22:13:19.440746+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Scott Hicks ## Identity Scott Hicks - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/scott-hicks - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** scott-hicks - **IMDb ID:** nm0382956 - **TMDB ID:** 33433 - **Wikidata ID:** Q951522 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Hicks_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q951522, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382956/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/33433 Director. Born 4 March 1953 in Uganda. ## Details - **Work:** Director - **Born:** 4 March 1953, Uganda - **Also known as:** Robert Scott Hicks - **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Hicks_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q951522, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382956/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/33433 ## Fi1m on Scott Hicks > Scott Hicks is at his most persuasive when he stays close to actors wrestling with difficult feelings. *Shine* earns our affection, though his fondness for warmth can make a complicated life seem rather too easily understood. In *Shine* (1996), the musician is allowed to be funny. Scott Hicks gives Geoffrey Rush and Noah Taylor room to make David Helfgott enjoyable company, even within a story of talent and parental pressure. We were moved because that humour gave us someone to care about beyond his musical ability. Hicks is worth watching for this attention to people, although he sometimes settles for reassuring us when a harder question would help. The smaller features *Freedom* (1982) and *Sebastian and the Sparrow* (1988) preceded the international recognition brought by *Shine*, which Hicks developed over a decade. He then moved into Hollywood literary adaptations with *Snow Falling on Cedars* (1999) and *Hearts in Atlantis* (2001). The memory-driven storytelling of *Snow Falling on Cedars* continues an interest in impressionistic structure already present in *Shine*, though its attention to beautiful images can weaken the narrative drive. Music remained a subject beyond the dramas, too, with the documentary *Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts* (2007). Much of *Shine*'s success depends on collaborators who know when to hold back. Geoffrey Simpson's cinematography keeps the performances intimate within Hicks's impressionistic telling. Vicki Niehus keeps the production design restrained, giving the actors room without competing for attention through period detail. Together, they stop a story about a musician becoming an excuse to admire handsome concert imagery. Jan Sardi's screenplay leaves space for humour in the demanding-father story, which Hicks is sensible enough to use. The weakness is how neatly Hicks and Sardi sometimes organise our sympathies. The film can make a difficult life seem too easy to understand, and Hicks accepts warmth where we need a fuller explanation. Lynn Redgrave's Gillian and John Gielgud's Cecil Parkes help by suggesting lives beyond their usefulness to David, with Redgrave's firmness particularly welcome when reassurance threatens to take over. Start with *Shine*, and pay attention to Redgrave when the film seems keenest to reassure us. ## Biography Scott Hicks is an Australian film director and screenwriter. Born Robert Scott Hicks on 4 March 1953 in Uganda, he was educated at Flinders University in South Australia. He is best known for directing and co-writing the screenplay for *Shine* (1996), the biopic of pianist David Helfgott, for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Other films he has directed include *Snow Falling on Cedars* (1999), *Hearts in Atlantis* (2001), *No Reservations* (2007), *The Boys Are Back* (2009) and *The Lucky One* (2012). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, themoviedb.org.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Shine* (1996), Fi1m 82, Director, Story — [page](https://film.one/film/shine.md) ## Complete filmography (21) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Musical Mind: A Portrait in Process* (2023), Writer, Director - *My Name's Ben Folds: I Play Piano* (2023), Director, Writer - *Fallen* (2016), Director - *Highly Strung* (2016), Director - *The Lucky One* (2012), Director - *The Boys Are Back* (2009), Director - *Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts* (2007), Director - *No Reservations* (2007), Director - *Hearts in Atlantis* (2001), Director - *Snow Falling on Cedars* (1999), Director, Screenplay - *Shine* (1996), Director, Story — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/shine.md) - *The Great Wall of Iron* (1989), series, Director, Creator - *Sebastian and the Sparrow* (1988), Director, Writer - *Call Me Mr. Brown* (1985), Director - *Freedom* (1982), Director - *Final Cut* (1980), First Assistant Director - *The Club* (1980), First Assistant Director - *Dawn!* (1979), Third Assistant Director - *Money Movers* (1978), Third Assistant Director - *Down the Wind* (1975), Director - *Committee*, Actor ## Gallery - ![Scott Hicks](https://film.one/media/person/86803/gallery-85eac3565a8d.jpg) Scott Hicks — Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Scott_Hicks.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![The Lucky One World Premiere At Bondi Juction, Sydney, Australia (2012)](https://film.one/media/person/86803/gallery-bf85ec3cc2b1.jpg) The Lucky One World Premiere At Bondi Juction, Sydney, Australia (2012) — Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Scott_Hicks_%287060358879%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![The Lucky One World Premiere At Bondi Juction, Sydney, Australia (2012)](https://film.one/media/person/86803/gallery-497096ebe684.jpg) The Lucky One World Premiere At Bondi Juction, Sydney, Australia (2012) — Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Scott_Hicks_%287060359865%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated - 1997: Best Director (nominated), for *Shine* - 1997: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Shine* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/scott-hicks