Education
M.A. Bournemouth University, D.F.A. University of Hertfordshire.
Teaching and Research Interests
Film Post-Production; Documentary; Producing; Digital Determinism; Practice-Based Research; Videographic Criticism; Video Essay.
Biography
Nick Hector DFA CCE BFE ACE 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, Avi Lewis, Margaret Atwood, Sturla Gunnarsson, David Suzuki, and Alfonso Cuarón. 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, Netflix, Arte, CBC, Channel 4 UK, Crave, CTV, Discovery, TVO, NFB, and PBS.
Nick has been nominated for 38 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)
Recent Publications: (last 5 years only)
Hector, N. (2026). ‘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 (Gallagher, 2025) Feature Documentary. 1h 30m. Editor, Story Editor. TVOntario.
- Finalist, Directors Guild of Canada Award, Best Documentary Editing
The Man Who Stole Einstein’s Brain (Shephard, 2023) 78m. Editor, Story Editor. CBC.
- Six Canadian Screen Award nominations, including Best Documentary and Best Documentary Editing
The Perfect Story (Shephard, 2022) 73m. Editor, Co-Producer. National Film Board of Canada.
- Winner, Best Canadian Film, Calgary International Film Festival
- Finalist, Directors Guild of Canada Award, Best Documentary Editing
- Finalist, Canadian Cinema Editors Award, Best Documentary Editing
Notable Filmography
Prey (2019). Co-producer, editor. 83m. TVO, Amazon. Canada.
Hot Docs Jury Prize
Hot Docs Best Canadian Feature 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
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.
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
Finalist - Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary Editing
Wiebo's War (2012). Producer, editor, story editor. 93m. NFB, Amazon Canada.
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
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
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
Toronto International Film Festival Top Ten Canadian Film
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
Toronto International Film Festival 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
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
Courses Taught
CMAF-2400 Cinema History I (Pre-War)
FILM-1100 Film Production I
FILM-1110 Film Production II
FILM-1900 Film Business & Professional Practice I
FILM-2200 Documentary Production I
FILM-2500 Sound I
FILM-2600 Film Editing I
FILM-3100 Film Production IV
FILM-3200 Documentary Production II
FILM-4105 Film Production VI
FILM-8100 Studio Production
FILM-8105 Studio Post-Production
FILM-3600 Film Editing II
MACS-8600 Seminar on Contemporary Issues
VSAR-1080 Studio Practice & Ideas/Time-Based
Graduate Supervisions
Supervisor to Stephanie Duncan, Master of Fine Arts 2026
Filmmaker Bias: An Exploration of Perspective in Documentary Cinema
Supervisor to Luyin Li, Master of Fine Arts 2026
Cross-Cutting as Creative Method: Aesthetic Strategies in Film Editing
Supervisor to Fiorella Limay Guise, Master of Fine Arts 2026
Realist Magic: A Cinematic Exploration of Trauma
Supervisor to Xiaolei Zhang, Master of Fine Arts 2026
From Healing to Narrative: Sound Bath Practices for Non-Diegetic Film Sound Design
Supervisor to Raquel Graston, Master of Fine Arts 2024
In a Film by Allan King, the Mechanics of Actuality Drama
Supervisor to Camilo Silva, Master of Fine Arts 2024
Canary, The Unsung Heroes of America's Book-Banning War
Supervisor to Olivier Balmokune, Master of Fine Arts 2022
Project Starjourn
Supervisor to Elizaveta Gorshkova, Master of Fine Arts 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 2021
Cinema and the Sensorial: Addressing Cultural Dissonance and Discovering Our Sentient Selves
Co-Supervisor to Gemma Cunial, Master of Fine Arts 2021
Representation of Women in Film and Media: Self-Identity, Self-Worth, and Gender Role Expectations