Norflicks Productions Ltd. - Richard Nielsen
Richard Nielsen is President of Norflicks Productions Ltd. a company he founded in 1985. He was previously President and CEO of Nielsen-Ferns International from 1972 to 1980, and Chairman of Primedia Productions from 1980 to 1985. With Nielsen-Ferns he produced A Third Testament for Time-Life Films and Noranda Mines; The Newcomers/Les Arrivants, produced for Imperial Oil to mark its 100th Anniversary in 1980; and The Wars, a feature film which won three Genie Awards in 1984. Subsequently, Primedia Productions produced Waiting for the Parade for CBC, Labour of Love and Billy Bishop Goes to War, which won the Anik Award for best Canadian TV program in 1982.
In 1986, Norflicks Productions Ltd. produced The Little Vampire, a highly-acclaimed children's TV drama series which rated number one in its age group (under 18) in the United Kingdom and West Germany ; and in 1988, Images of Love, Words of Hope, a 13-part series with Jean Vanier. The Knowing Eternity collection, also on Jean Vanier, this one a 25-part series on the Gospel of John, was produced in 2002. Norflicks also co-produced The Originals, a popular half-hour documentary TV series syndicated across Canada , as well as the feature Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace, a German co-production that was the recipient of the Golden Nymphe award at the 2000 Monte Carlo television festival for best television movie.
Richard Nielsen's screen credits as writer include many made-for-TV films: Labour of Love for the CBC; Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal Banks for the CBC and the National Film Board (for which he won a Gemini Award for best screenplay); Quebec/Canada 1995 for CTV and First Choice; the feature film Oh, What a Night, produced by Norstar and starring Robbie Coltrane; and, the highly acclaimed six-part series on Canada's role in World War II, No Price Too High (which he also produced and executive produced). He wrote and produced the feature-length film Balls Up!-distributed by Motion International- and was nominated for a Writers Guild of Canada Top Ten Award for The Battle of Vimy Ridge, part two of a three-part series on Canadians in the First World War entitled Far From Home. He also wrote and produced parts one and three of the trilogy, Sam's Army and The Last 100 Days, which have aired on Bravo! in September 1999 and CBC during Remembrance Week 2001. In 2002 he wrote and produced Seapower to Superpower, a five-part television series for History Television on the history of naval warfare and the emergence of the world's Superpowers. Test of Will: Canada in Korea (2002), written and produced by Nielsen, completes his trilogy of Canadian 20th Century wartime participation.
In 2005, Richard was Executive Producer on the Norflicks Production, Conquering Niagara, the story of the Welland Canal . The Saviour of Ceylon, which he wrote and Executive Produced, about Air Commandant Leonard Birchall, followed in 2006, along with The Life and Times of William Hutt, a documentary about renowned actor William Hutt, and in 2007, Turning Pages: The Life and Literature of Margaret Atwood, about Canadian author Margaret Atwood, both of which he Executive Produced.
Richard Nielsen joined the CBC as Program Organizer of Economic Programs in 1961 and subsequently became a Producer and Writer with the documentary series Close Up, Horizon and Other Voices. In 1965 he conceived the weekly current affairs series The Public Eye and was Executive Producer during a four-year run. In 1968 he took on the additional responsibility of Document. In 1969 he became Executive Producer of the public affairs program, CBC Weekend; and in 1971 he added a second weekly hour-long magazine program, Midweek, to his charge. During the period with the CBC he wrote frequently for several prominent publications on subjects including the media, politics, business and the labour movement.
In the late 1970's Richard Nielsen was asked back to the CBC on a temporary assignment as the Executive Producer of the highly acclaimed exposé on organized crime, Connections, which also won the Wilderness Award as best Canadian TV program of 1977. Richard Nielsen has been the recipient of many other prestigious awards including the Mitchener Award, the Chetwynd Award, four Gemini awards, several awards for Best Canadian Film and an Emmy nomination for the Irish episode of The Newcomers.