Chokri Ben Chikha
Chokri Ben Chikha (1969, Oostend, Belgium), was born in Ostend, Belgium and grew up in a Tunisian family. He earned his Master's degree in History from Ghent University in 1994 and began his career as a dancer, choreographer, actor, director, and theater maker. In 2001, he gained national recognition for directing 'Bruine Suiker’, and between 2003 and 2008, he created the controversial family trilogy consisting of 'The Lion of Flanders’, 'Our Lady of Flanders’, and 'Brothers of Charity’.
In 2008, he began a practice-based PhD at KASK/HoGent and Ghent University, completing it with 'The Truth Commission' (2013), which was performed in Belgium, the Netherlands, and internationally. He founded the international theatre company 'Action Zoo Humain' in 2009. His 'truth trilogy' includes 'Join The Revolution' (2016) in Tunisia, 'Amnes(t)ie' (2018) reworked in Spain, and he also directed 'Submission' (2017), based on Michel Houellebecq's novel.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he created 'Testament of a Journalist' and opened the Flemish Week at the World Expo in Dubai with 'Flemish Primitives’. His latest work, 'Persians. Triumph of Empathy' (2024), which explores the genocide against the Palestinian people and what he describes as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, premiered at NTGent after his research in Israel and Palestine in January 2024. He is currently the artistic director of Action Zoo Humain, teaches at KASK and the University of Antwerp, and is an artist-in-residence at NTGent. He is currently the artistic director of Action Zoo Humain, teaches at KASK and the University of Antwerp, and is an artist-in-residence at NTGent. His accolades include the 2nd Prize at the Concours Internationale de Danse d'Inspiration Africaine (Paris, 1997), the Prize for Democracy (Ghent, 2004), the Louis Paul Boon Prize (Ghent, 2005), the Artist Award at the Africa Film Festival (Leuven, 2014), the Cutting Edge Award for 'Submission' (2018), and the Walter De Buck Prize (Ghent, 2022).