Biography

A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, and founder of Second Glance Productions, Anthony L. Williams is a performer, educator, and award-winning visionary director, writer, and producer living in Chicago.

In 2024, he was the 1st Place Winner of Illinois' LGBT Chamber of Commerce's entrepreneur 'Biz Boot Camp' Pitch Competition (sponsored by JPMorgan Chase). His latest docuseries, "It's Not You, It's Me," was a festival winner at both the Cinema WorldFest Awards and Creation International Film Festival, as well as received the Honorable Mention award at the Various Artists Independent Film Festival.

He won 2nd place in the 2021 Flip the Script Competition for his TV pilot, "Heartstrings," which went on to claim 1st Place in London & Lisbon's Sunday Shorts Film Festival and was selected in the Chicago Script Awards and Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival in 2024.

Nominated for 6 awards at the 2025 World Music & Independent Film Festival, his critically-acclaimed feature film, "Thicker Than Blood," has garnered him awards for "Best Director in a Feature Film" at the Newark International Film Festival and "Best Narrative Feature Film" at the Arlington International Film Festival in Boston in 2019.

His award-winning short film, "Absolutely Positive," claimed the "Best Director" award at the World Music & Independent Film Festival in Washington, DC in 2013, earning him a personal invitation to the Obama White House. Now developed as a scripted television series, the pilot for Absolutely Positive advanced to the Quarterfinalist round in the 2020 TSL Screenplay Contest.

Having produced content for the History Channel, HGTV, National Geographic, A&E, The Travel Channel, Food Network, Investigative Discovery, and more, no matter the storytelling medium, Anthony takes pride in creating memorable media that pushes boundaries with purpose and on purpose. And with every story he tells, his mission is to 'edutain' and inspire viewers at first glance, while provoking deeper thought, conversation, and connection upon 'second glance.'

- IMDb mini biography by: Anthony L. Williams