We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Abigail Weinick. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Abigail below.

Abigail, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on was my senior thesis film, Hot Tears. I graduated from Mason Gross at Rutgers in 2021. At that time, we were all remote due to the pandemic. It was disappointing to be spending our last year of college, and the biggest year of our program, from home. However, I think being in my own bubble helped me focus more on just making something meaningful to me. I was away from my film peers who I sometimes would compare myself to. I was in a position to just focus on the work and when it came down to it, I made something I was the most proud of out of all the projects I made during my time in school. When we joined in person to film it, it was really special and I had an even greater sense of appreciation of the community aspect of filmmaking. Hot Tears has played at the Greenpoint Film Festival, New Filmmakers NY, and won best performance at the East Brunswick Film Festival.

Abigail, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hello! My name is Abigail Weinick. I’m a filmmaker, photographer, and actress based in Brooklyn. I’m from NJ and went to school at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Initially I studied English but halfway through my time there, I realized I was unhappy with what I was studying and I felt directionless. I met a student in the film program who was looking for an actress. I ended up acting in this short film and became really intrigued by filmmaking in general. I always wanted to work in the arts in some capacity, but I never really considered filmmaking. It wasn’t something that I was exposed to as a career option growing up. I also had this misconception that I had to be really good at working with cameras to apply and, at that point, I had no experience with cameras. But filmmaking is a lot more than knowing how to use cameras. There are so many moving parts that have to come together. And I realized I actually love working with cameras, which was something I was originally the most intimidated by. Currently I work as a Showrunner’s assistant. I’ve had various PA jobs in the city. As a side hustle, I do photography. You can find me/my work at abigailweinick.com. I’m currently focussing on writing a new project that I hope to shoot in the near future!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the opportunity to meet other like-minded people. Filmmaking is such a collaborative art and I’ve met so many amazing people over the past few years. Through school, film festivals, social media, etc. I’ve been able to form a network of people I can work with and explore the craft even further.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn is that you have to be perfect at something, or know everything about it, before jumping in. I was afraid of applying to a film program because I didn’t have experience prior and I was intimated by it. It’s easy for me to talk myself out of something because I’m scared. Something I’ve learned that’s helped me work through this fear, is that everyone is working at their own pace. Some people might have been doing this since they were kids, and others might have a career switch later in life. Both of those situations are completely fine. There’s always something to learn and it’s never too late to make a change/go for thing you’ve been telling yourself you’re not cut out for. It’s just doubt, and you’ve got to keep going!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.abigailweinick.com
• Instagram: @whoisabbyweinick
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigail-weinick/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPIjchDkDoWPC9xz_wWMAwQ
• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11670632/