# Abbey Jack Neidik

Abbey Jack Neidik (born 1947) is a Canadian film director, producer, writer and cinematographer.

## Early life

Neidik was born in 1947 in Montreal. He received a BA degree from Sir George Williams University, Montreal.

## Career

In 1980, Neidik co-produced and directed Dark Lullabies 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, screened at the Berlin Arsenal 70th anniversary of The Holocaust, the Inconvenient Films: International Human Rights Festival, and the National Film Board of Canada’s International Salute to the Documentary.
Neidik next directed Between The Solitudes/Entre Solitudes, about the Anglo community in Quebec., followed by The Love Prophet and the Children of God, a look at a controversial religious cult. A Song for Tibet about Tibetans in exile; The Cola Conquest, 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. He co-produced and co-directed She Got Game, a behind-the-scenes look at women’s tennis; Vendetta Song, which examines the tradition of honour killings in rural Kurdish tribes in Turkey; co-produced and directed Unbreakable Minds, which aims to de-stigmatize mental illness; co-produced and co-directed; Inside the Great Magazines, a three-part series about the inner workings of the magazine industry; and co-produced and directed Inside the Great Magazines; and Canadaville, USA, 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; in 2015 Big Wind, about the effects of industrial wind turbines; and, in 2018, the sequel Shekinah Rising.
Most recently, Neidik co-directed, wrote and produced First to Stand: The Cases and Causes of Irwin Cotler, 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 inauguration of the Irwin Cotler Institute for Democracy, Human Rights and Justice at Tel Aviv University, and for the U.S. Congress on the occasion of Cotler receiving the Lantos Human Rights Award.

## Books

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

## Awards

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 1976 | Canadian Film Awards, Etrog | Best Sound Editing | Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry | Won |
| 1977 | Academy Award | Best Documentary Nomination | Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry | Won |
| 1985 | International Film Festival of Mannheim | Most Socially-Politically Engaging Film | Dark Lullabies | Won |
| 1985 | International Film Festival of Mannheim | Ecumenical Jury Award | Dark Lullabies | Won |
| 1985 | International Film Festival of Mannheim | Education Jury | Dark Lullabies | Second |
| 1985 | International Film Festival of Mannheim | Audience Award | Dark Lullabies | Won |
| 1986 | Torino International Festival of Young Cinema | Prize of the City of Torino - Best Feature Film | Dark Lullabies | Nominated |
| 1986 | World Television Festival, Tokyo | Most Memorable Film | Dark Lullabies | Won |
| 1986 | American Film Festival | Red Ribbon | Dark Lullabies | Won |
| 1989 | National Film Board of Canada | A Salute to the Documentary - Prix du Public | Dark Lullabies | Won |
| 1991 | Genie Awards | Best Sound Editing | Falling Over Backwards | Nominated |
| 1992 | Genie Awards | Best Short Documentary | A Song for Tibet | Won |
| 1992 | American Film Festival | Blue Ribbon | A Song for Tibet | Won |
| 1992 | Hawaii Film Festival | Best Documentary of the Year | A Song for Tibet | Won |
| 1992 | Yorkton Film Festival | Best Documentary of the Year | A Song for Tibet | Won |
| 1993 | Les Prix Gémeaux | Best Documentary | Entre Solitudes / Between Solitudes | Nominated |
| 1993 | Les Prix Gémeaux | Best Editing | Entre Solitudes / Between Solitudes | Nominated |
| 1998 | Chicago international Television Competition | Silver Hugo - Best Series | The Cola Conquest | Won |
| 1998 | Encounter Internacionais de Cinema Documentale, Vila Franca de Xira | | The Cola Conquest | |
| 1999 | Gemini Awards | Best Documentary Series | The Cola Conquest | Nominated |
| 1999 | Gemini Awards | Best Writing in a Documentary or Series | The Cola Conquest | Won |
| 1999 | Hot Docs | Best Documentary Series - Independent | The Cola Conquest | Won |
| 1999 | National Education Media Network | Gold Apple | The Cola Conquest | Won |
* The Love Prophet and the Children of God (1998)
* Chicago International Television Competition, Gold Plaque - Best Biography of the Year (1998)
* Yorktown Short Film and Video Festival - Golden Sheaf Award (1999)
* Hot Docs - Best Biography Nominee (1999)
* She Got Game (2003)
* Temecula Valley International Film and Music Festival, California - Best Documentary (2003)
* Columbus International Film and Video Festival - Chris Statuette (2003)
* Sports Movies & TV Milano International FICTS Fest, - Guirlande d'Honneur (2003) participation
* Aurora Awards - Gold Awards (2004)
* Vendetta Song (2005)
* Hot Docs CIDA Prize - Best Canadian Documentary on International Developmen (2005)
* Hot Docs - Top Ten Audience Favourites (2005)
* Calgary International Film Festival- Best Canadian Documentary (2005)
* Rendez-vous du Cinéma Québécois, Quebec Film Critics Association - Best Medium Length Documentary (2005)
* Vendetta Song - Rendez-vous du Cinéma Québécois – Choix du public (2005)
* Female Eye Film Festival - Best Documentary (2005)
* International Women’s Film Festival, Torina - Third prize (2006)
* Columbus International Film and Video Festival – Humanities – Bronze Plaque (2006)
* Unbreakable Minds (2005)
* Willpower Board of Directors Grateful Appreciation Award (2005)
* Canadaville, USA (2008)
* Chicago International Film Festival - Merit Prize for Social Political Documentary (2008)
* Shekinah: The Intimate Life of Hasidic Women (2013)
* Crown Heights Film Festival – Best Documentary (2013)
* Beyond Earth: the Beginning of NewSpace (2013)
* Hollywood Independent Documentary Awards - Award Winner (2017)
* Beyond Earth Film Festival - Jury’s Special Mention. (2019)
* First to Stand: The Cases and Causes of Irwin Cotler (2022)
* Mannheim Arts and Film Festival – Honorable Mention (2022)
* Gold Star Movie Awards – Best Feature Length Documentary (2023)
* Festival de Television de Monte-Carlo Golden Nymph Awards - Official Selection (2023)
* Goldstar Movie Awards – Official Recognition (2023)
* Indie Vegas Film Festival - Honorable Mention ( 2024)