Abbey Jack Neidik

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Abbey Jack Neidik (born 1947 in Montreal) is a Canadian film director, producer, writer, picture editor, sound editor and cinematographer. He is known for socially engaged films about issues from human rights and cultural identity to mental health and international relations. He has directed, produced, and edited over 70 films, including works that have been recognized with major international awards, broadcasts and screenings. Neidik and his partner Irene Angelico co-founded DLI Productions, a documentary production company based in Montreal.

Contents

Career

In 1980, Neidik co-produced and directed Dark Lullabies [1] about the effects of the Holocaust on the next generations of Jews and Germans. Dark Lullabies was the inaugural film at the Stratford Festival Forum, [2] screened at the Berlin Arsenal 70th anniversary of the Holocaust, [3] [4] the Inconvenient Films: International Human Rights Festival in Vilnius, [5] [6] and was selected as one of the 250 greatest films of all times at the National Film Board of Canada’s Salute to the Documentary. . [7]

Neidik next directed Between The Solitudes/Entre Solitudes, [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] about the Anglo community in Quebec., followed by The Love Prophet and the Children of God, [13] [14] a look at a controversial religious cult. A Song for Tibet about Tibetans in exile; [15] The Cola Conquest, [16] [17] produced by Neidik, is a three-part series about Coca-Cola as a metaphor for American influence worldwide. Neidik co-produced and directed The Journey Home: A Romanian Adoption,  a film about Romanian orphans a decade after the fall of Ceausescu. [18] He co-produced and co-directed She Got Game, [19] [20] a behind-the-scenes look at women’s tennis; Vendetta Song, [21] which examines the tradition of honour killings in rural Kurdish tribes in Turkey; co-produced and directed Unbreakable Minds, [22] [23] [24] which aims to de-stigmatize mental illness; co-produced and co-directed Inside the Great Magazines, [25] [26] a three-part series about the inner workings of the magazine industry; and co-produced and directed Canadaville, USA, [27] [28] about billionaire Frank Stronach's social experiment in rural Louisiana.

In 2013, Neidik co-produced and directed Beyond Earth: the Beginning of NewSpace; Shekinah: the Intimate Lives of Hasidic Women; [29] in 2015 Big Wind, about the effects of industrial wind turbines; and, in 2018, the sequel Shekinah Rising. [30]

Most recently, Neidik co-directed, wrote and produced First to Stand: The Cases and Causes of Irwin Cotler, [31] [32] [33] [34] a documentary about former Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Canada and international human rights lawyer, Irwin Cotler and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. The film premiered on Human Rights Day, December 10, 2022 at the Cinéma du Musée in Montreal, Quebec. The film was screened for the U.S. Congress on the occasion of Cotler receiving the Lantos Human Rights Award. [35]

Books

Neidik was co-editor in the publication of The Aftermath: A Survivor's Odyssey Through War-Torn Europe. [36]

Awards

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef
1976Canadian Film Awards, EtrogBest Sound Editing Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry Won
1977Academy AwardsBest Documentary NominationWon
1985International Film Festival of MannheimMost Socially-Politically Engaging FilmDark LullabiesWon
Ecumenical Jury AwardWon
Education JurySecond
Audience AwardWon
1986Torino International Festival of Young CinemaPrize of the City of Torino - Best Feature FilmNominated
World Television Festival, TokyoMost Memorable FilmWon
American Film FestivalRed RibbonWon
1989 National Film Board of Canada A Salute to the Documentary - Prix du PublicWon
1991 Genie Awards Best Sound Editing Falling Over Backwards Nominated
1992Genie Awards Best Short Documentary A Song for Tibet Won [37]
American Film FestivalBlue RibbonWon
Hawaii Film FestivalBest Documentary of the YearWon
Yorkton Film FestivalBest Documentary of the YearWon
1993Les Prix GémeauxBest DocumentaryEntre Solitudes / Between SolitudesNominated
Best EditingNominated
1998Chicago international Television CompetitionSilver Hugo - Best SeriesThe Cola ConquestWon
Encounter Internacionais de Cinema Documentale, Vila Franca de Xira
1999 Gemini Awards Best Documentary SeriesNominated
Best Writing in a Documentary or SeriesWon
Hot Docs Best Documentary Series - IndependentWon
National Education Media NetworkGold AppleWon

See also

References

  1. ↑ Cohen, Mike. "Canadian documentary about the Holocaust experiences a renaissance" (PDF). The Jewish Tribune.
  2. ↑ Angelico, Irene (2013). "Crossing Over: How is Dark Lullabies like Romeo and Juliet?" (PDF). Canadian Jewish News.
  3. ↑ Peary, Gerald (February 27, 1986). "Berlin Toasts Pool's "Pearl."" (PDF). The Globe and Mail.
  4. ↑ Dell, Matthais. "Reise an die Gründe des Schweigens" (PDF). die tageszeitung von heute.
  5. ↑ "The Inconvenient Films: International Human Rights Festival in Vilnius" (PDF).
  6. ↑ Garrick, Lewis (December 14, 2016). "Irene Angelico's Belated Pilgrimage to Vilnius". Delfi.en.
  7. ↑ "Le Documentaire se fête/A Salute to the Documentary". Collections Cinématheque QC. 1989.
  8. ↑ Cauchon, Paul (October 30, 1992). "Entre Solitudes ou le Blues des Anglophones" (PDF). Le Devoir.
  9. ↑ Caddell, Andrew. (1992). "Beyond the Solitudes: How to Bridge the Gap" (PDF). The Hill Times.
  10. ↑ "Entre Solitudes" (PDF). Le Devoir. October 28, 1992.
  11. ↑ Boone, Mike (October 28, 1992). "Film about Anglos is an Eye-Opener" (PDF). Montreal Gazette.
  12. ↑ Ruvinsky, Maxine (November 2, 1992). "Film on Anglophones Kept Off Television during Vote Campaign" (PDF). The Canadian Press.
  13. ↑ Alioff, Maurie (1998). "On the Dangerous Road to Heaven" (PDF). Matrix.
  14. ↑ Hays, Matthew (1998). "All in the Family" (PDF). Montreal Mirror.
  15. ↑ "A Song for Tibet". NFB Collection. 1991.
  16. ↑ Brownstein, Bill (August 29, 1998). "Couple turns lens on pop culture" (PDF). Montreal Gazette.
  17. ↑ Zerbisias, Antonia (September 7, 1998). "The Real Thing". The Toronto Star.
  18. ↑ Pendergrast, Mark (May 9, 2000). "The Journey Home: A Romanian Adoption". The Video Librarian.
  19. ↑ Tebbut, Tim (2003). "Documentary shows life behind the game" (PDF). The Globe and Mail.
  20. ↑ Wertheim, Jon (April 28, 2003). "Hewitt's lawsuit has little merit" (PDF). si.com.
  21. ↑ "21.York U. (May 6, 2005).York alumna's film takes $5,000 CIDA prize at Hot Docs festival". York U. May 6, 2005.
  22. ↑ Pearson, Jesse, ed. (2003). "The Mental Illness Issue" (PDF). Vice. Vol. 12, no. 2.
  23. ↑ Galvez-Searle, Dixon (2005). "Mind Over Matter: Unbreakable Mind Screens in the Chicago Area" (PDF).
  24. ↑ Ingram, Bruce (October 20, 2005). "Documentary Breaks Through Stigma" (PDF). Pioneer Press.
  25. ↑ Cauchon, Paul (March 10, 2007). "Les grands magazines ont-ils encore un avenir?" (PDF). Le Devoir.
  26. ↑ Hays, Matthew (April 28, 2003). "Noise Makers-Documentary Filmmaker Abbey Neidik Peers Inside the Great Magazine" (PDF). Montreal Mirror.
  27. ↑ Wyatt, Nelson (November 1, 2007). "The town Frank Stronach built". Toronto Star.
  28. ↑ Brownstein, Bill (November 1, 2007). "Uplifting idea didn't yield a Utopia". Montreal Gazette.
  29. ↑ Ghert-Zand, Renee (October 29, 2013). "New documentary opens a hermetically closed world". Time of Israel.
  30. ↑ "Shekinah Rising". Chai Flicks. 2019.
  31. ↑ Wheeler, Brad (February 5, 2023). "With their new film about Irwin Cotler, married Montreal filmmakers make a stand for human rights". The Globe and Mail .
  32. ↑ Brownstein, Bill (December 9, 2022). "Irwin Cotler's many fights for human rights detailed in documentary". Montreal Gazette.
  33. ↑ Alioff, Maurie (February 7, 2023). "First to Stand: Irwin Cotler's Fight for Human Rights" (PDF). Nothernstars.
  34. ↑ Cashman, Greer Fay. "Grapevine. A matter of timing." Jerusalem Post. February 22, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Documentary Film Featuring Canadian Human Rights Lawyer Irwin Cotler Premiers In DC, As Cotler Receives Prestigious Human Rights Award". Lantos Foundation. October 26, 2023.
  36. ↑ "The Aftermath: A Survivor's Odyssey Through War-Torn Europe".
  37. ↑ Maria Topalovich, And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. ISBN   0-7737-3238-1.
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