Education
M.A. Bournemouth University, D.F.A. University of Hertfordshire.
Research Interests/Teaching Areas
Film and Video Post-Production; Documentary; Producing; Digital Determinism; Practice-Based Research.
Biography
Nick Hector DFA CCE BFE is a filmmaker and an Associate Professor of Communication, Media and Film at the University of Windsor with more than thirty years of experience. He has worked at the film industry’s highest level with such celebrated filmmakers as Allan King OC, Naomi Klein, Alfonso Cuarón, William Brayne, Sam Grana, Yvan Patry, and Sturla Gunnarsson. Nick has edited, produced, written, or directed more than 170 documentary films and programs across North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. These films have a combined production budget of more than $150 million and have been screened at most major international festivals, including three of the “Big Five”: TIFF, Berlinale, and Sundance, winning 48 national and international awards. These films have been streamed or broadcast worldwide on platforms that include Criterion, Apple, Amazon, Arte, CBC, Channel 4 UK, Crave, CTV, Discovery, TVO, NFB, and PBS.
Nick has been nominated for 37 national film craft awards, winning thirteen; including Canadian Screen, HotDocs, Directors Guild of Canada, Canadian Cinema Editors, and Gemini Awards. His creative work focuses on social justice and explores the possibilities of constructed narrative in cinéma-vérité. He is perhaps best known for his work on Dying at Grace, hailed by critics as “one of the greatest films ever made in this country” and now part of the prestigious Criterion Collection. Nick holds a Doctorate in Fine Arts. His scholarly research explores the creative implications of art and craft processes in filmmaking.
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0373105
Website: nickhector.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8360-8358
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Hector
National Film Awards
Canadian Cinema Editors Award, Best Documentary Film Editing, Prey (2020)
Canadian Cinema Editors Award, Best Documentary Editing, Sharkwater Extinction (2019)
HotDocs, DGC Special Jury Prize, Best Canadian Feature (as co-producer), Prey (2019)
Canadian Screen Award, Best Documentary Editing, Canada in a Day (2018)
Canadian Cinema Editors Award, Best Documentary Editing, Echoes (2013)
Genie Award, Finalist, Best Documentary Feature, (as producer) Wiebo's War (2012)
Canadian Cinema Editors, Best Documentary Editing, Force of Nature (2011)
Directors Guild of Canada, Allan King Award, Force of Nature (2011)
Directors Guild of Canada, Allan King Award, Experimental Eskimos (2010)
Directors Guild of Canada, Allan King Award, Air India 182 (2009)
Gemini Award, Best Documentary Editing, Air India 182 (2009)
Gemini Award, Best Documentary Editing, Dying at Grace (2004)
Gemini Award, Best Documentary Editing, Chronicle of a Genocide (1998)
Hot Docs Award, Best Editing, Hand of God, Hand of the Devil (1996)
Notable Filmography
Prey (2019). Co-producer, editor. 83m. TVO, Amazon. Canada.
Hot Docs Jury Prize
Hot Docs Best Canadian Feature Audience Award
WIFF Audience Award
Finalist - Canadian Screen Awards - Best Feature Documentary
Finalist - Canadian Screen Awards - Best Feature Documentary Editing
Finalist - Directors Guild of Canada Award for Best Feature Documentary Editing
Sharkwater Extinction (2018). Co-producer, editor. 88m. Amazon. USA/Canada.
Canadian Cinema Editors Award for Best Feature Documentary Editing
Best Environmental Film - Byron Bay Film Festival (Australia)
Best Documentary - Fort Lauderdale Film Festival (USA)
Best Educational Film - Green Film Festival (China)
Courageous Filmmaking Award - Napa Valley Film Festival (USA).
Finalist - Directors Guild of Canada Award for Best Documentary Editing
Canada in a Day (2017). Editor, story editor. 90m. CTV. Canada.
Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary Editing
This Changes Everything (2016). Editor, story editor. 89m. Louverture Films. USA.
Cinema Politica - Audience Choice Award
Finalist - Directors Guild of Canada Award for Best Documentary Editing
Monsoon (2015). Editor, Story editor. 108m. CBC/Arte. Canada/France.
Toronto International Film Festival Top Ten Canadian Film
TIFF Top Ten Festival Audience Award
Polly Krakora Award for Artistry in Film
Finalist - Canadian Cinema Editors Award for Best Documentary Editing
Finalist - Directors Guild of Canada's Allan King Award
War Story (2012-16). Co-director, editor. 23x30m. History TV. Canada.
Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary Series
Yorkton Film Festival Golden Sheaf Award for Best Documentary Series
Houston International Independent Film Festival WorldFest Award
Finalist - Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary Editing
Wiebo's War (2012). Producer, editor, story editor. 93m. NFB, Amazon Canada.
Honourable Mention - Hot Docs Best Feature Documentary
Honourable Mention - RIDM Award for Best Canadian Feature
Finalist - Genie Award for Best Feature Documentary
Finalist - Directors Guild of Canada’s Allan King Award
Finalist - Canadian Cinema Editors Award for Best Documentary Editing
Finalist - Sheffield Green Award
Force of Nature (2010). Editor, story editor. NFB, Amazon. 93m. Canada.
Canadian Cinema Editors Award for Best Documentary Editing
Directors Guild of Canada’s Allan King Award
Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Documentary Award Canadian Environmental Media Award of Excellence
Vancouver International Film Festival Award for Best Environmental Film
Byron Bay Film Festival Award for Best Film
Cinéfest Award for Best Documentary
Air India 182 (2008). Editor. 97m. CBC. Canada.
Directors Guild of Canada’s Allan King Award
Gemini Award for Best Documentary Editing
Finalist - Gemini Award for Best Documentary
Memory for Max, Claire, Ida & Co. (2005). Editor, story editor. 112m. TVO, Criterion. Can/USA.
Finalist - Gemini Award for Best Documentary
Finalist - Gemini Award for Best Documentary Editing
Finalist - Directors Guild of Canada Award for Best Documentary Team
Dying at Grace (2003). Editor, story editor. 148m. TVO, Criterion. Canada/USA.
Gemini Award for Best Documentary
Gemini Award for Best Documentary Editing
Directors Guild of Canada Award for Best Documentary Team
Cinematheque Ontario Award for Top Ten Canadian Film
The Dragon’s Egg (1999). Editor, story editor. 110m. TVO. Canada.
Finalist - Gemini Award for Best Documentary
Finalist - Gemini Award for Best Documentary Editing
Chronique d'un genocide annoncé (1996). Editor, story editor. 141m. NFB. Canada.
Gemini Award for Best Documentary Editing
Hot Docs Award for Best of Festival
Hot Docs Award for Best Theatrical Film
Chalmers Arts Awards for Best Documentary Film
Cinemateque Quebecois Award for Best Quebecois Film
Finaliste - Prix Gémeaux meilleur montage documentaire
Drowning in Dreams (1996). Editor, story editor. 72m. NFB. Canada.
Finalist - Genie Award for Best Documentary
La part de Dieu, la part du diable (1995). Editor, story editor. 58m. NFB. Canada.
HotDocs Award for Best Documentary Editing
Vientos de memoria (1992). Editor, story editor. 52m. NFB, Channel 4 UK. Canada/UK.
Festival of the Americas Special Jury Prize, Best Human Rights Film
Havana International Film Festival Coral
Festival Cine-Iberamerican (Huelva, Spain). Best Documentary
Nuit et silence (1991). Editor, sound editor. 58m. Channel 4 UK. Canada/UK.
Finaliste - Prix Gémeaux meilleur montage documentaire
Canadian Association of Journalists Award for Best Television Reportage
Canadian Association of Journalists Award for Best Reportage in any Media
Le pays interdit (1989). Editor, sound editor. 56m. Alter Cine. Canada.
Nyon International Documentary Film Festival Jury Prize
American Film & Video Festival Blue Ribbon
Graduate Faculty Publications: (last 5 years only)
Hector, N. (Forthcoming). ‘Story Machine: Documentary Film Editing and the Digital Process’. In: Documentary in the Age of AI. Eds. Pietari Kaapa, Dafydd Sills-Jones. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Hector, N. (2023). ‘The Hero Myth and the Cutting Room Floor’. In: The Routledge Companion to History and the Moving Image. Editor(s) - Kim Nelson, Mia Tracey, Marnie Hughes-Warrington. NY: Routledge.
Hector, N. (2023). ‘Old School Digital, Editorial process as a creative tool’. In: First Frame, Crafting the Moving Image, (10) 48-53, April. London: British Film Editors.
Hector, N. (2023) ‘The Way Back: An analogue Dogme for the digital documentary editor’. In: Point of View, (118) 8-10, April. Toronto: DOC Institute.
Shamed. (2025). Editor. 85m. TVO. Canada.
The Man Who Stole Einstein’s Brain (2023). Editor, story editor. 80m. CBC, PBS. Can/USA.
The Perfect Story (2022). Co-producer, editor. 80m. NFB. Canada.
The Fight to the Finish (2020). Co-producer, editor. 70m. History. Canada.
Candidato 34 (2020). Co-producer, story editor. 70m. Canada/USA.
Courses Taught
FILM-1100 Film Production I
FILM-1110 Film Production II
FILM-1900 Film Business and Professional Practice I
FILM-2200 Documentary I
FILM-2500 Sound
FILM-2600 Film Editing I
FILM-3100 Film Production IV
FILM-3200 Documentary II
FILM-3600 Film Editing II
FILM-4105 Film Production VI
MACS-8600 Seminar on Contemporary Issues
VSAR-8610 Studio Practice I
VSAR-8620 Studio Practice II
VSAR-8630 Studio Practice III
VSAR-8640 Studio Practice IV
VSAR-8650 Studio Production I
Graduate Supervisions
Supervisor to Raquel Graston, Master of Fine Arts 2022 - 2024
In a Film by Allan King, the Mechanics of Actuality Drama
Supervisor to Camilo Silva, Master of Fine Arts 2022 - 2024
Canary, The Unsung Heroes of America's Book-Banning War
Supervisor to Olivier Balmokune, Master of Fine Arts 2019 - 2022
Project Starjourn, A temporary visit to an alternate reality
Supervisor to Elizaveta Gorshkova, Master of Fine Arts 2020 - 2021
The 'Happily Ever After' Lie: a documentary exploration of heteronormative romantic cinema and the lived experience
Supervisor to Calum Hotchkiss, Master of Fine Arts 2019 - 2021
Cinema and the Sensorial: Addressing Cultural Dissonance and Discovering Our Sentient Selves
Co-Supervisor to Gemma Cunial, Master of Fine Arts 2019 - 2021
Representation of Women in Film and Media: Self-Identity, Self-Worth, and Gender Role Expectations
Secondary Supervisor to Isha Faisal, Master of Fine Arts 2022 - 2025
Secondary Supervisor to Luca Cunial, Master of Fine Arts 2020 - 2022
Secondary Supervisor to Alysha Baker, Master of Fine Arts 2019 - 2020
Secondary Supervisor to Shaquille Sampson, Master of Fine Arts 2019 - 2020
Secondary Supervisor to Svjetlana Oppen, Master of Fine Arts 2018 - 2019