CC INTERVIEW my paces with various fight stunts and falls, building up to ‘The Leap’ challenge: a two-metre bound from one platform to the other. Of course, I wasn’t going to actually leap between two moving cars like Jessica does in the Churchill ad, I’m not that crazy (yet).This was a great experience that linked my love for movies and filmmaking, with martial arts, and my dream to one day be a stuntwoman myself.” And it’s this type of collaboration and marketing that Antonia believes works for companies that want to stay relevant and appeal to younger generations. “Technology is changing so rapidly, and there are so many areas that I need to constantly educate myself on. You need to be aware if hashtags or memes are still a trend and what’s working between the different age groups. Older audiences tend to use Facebook, while the younger demographic mostly prefers Instagram. A few years ago, if you wanted to share something with someone on Facebook you needed to copy and paste a link to them. Now you just use the @ sign.” Ever loyal, Antonia believes BuzzFeed is – and always has been – at the forefront of the online movement. “BuzzFeed was born on the Internet, and it’s always been part of our DNA. We were the company to start the video food channel Tasty.co, which was the first time a format such as this was ever used, and now it’s been copied time and time again.” Antonia says BuzzFeed is also blazing another trail, with its culture of inclusivity of its staff. “We have a ‘no haters’ policy at work and we really believe in equal opportunities for everyone. Diversity is also encouraged, and the company is extremely welcoming to members of the LGBT community, including myself. It’s nice to be able to talk about my girlfriend out in the open.” As well as her partner, Antonia’s family have been very much a part of her career. In fact, she used her grandmother as her inspiration for her university project. “The animation was inspired by me finding my gran jumping up and down trying to see herself in the mirror. She turned around and said to me: “that’s the problem with getting older, you shrink!” Antonia is also close to her Maltese grandfather, who moved to England when he was around 19 or 20. “He’s still alive but is very old now, and likes sitting on the couch and watching back-to-back programmes on TV.” Antonia has visited his homeland of Malta twice. “The second time was when I was 26,” she says. “I came with my mum for eight or nine days and we did all the beautiful sites and scenery there is to see in Malta and Gozo. One day I’d love to have a house there, so I could enjoy all of that sunshine and great food!” cc APRIL/MAY 2019
“Technology is changing so rapidly, and there are so many areas that I need to constantly educate myself on.”
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