Biography

Leslye Abbey (www.snowflakevideo.com) – is a documentary filmmaker, photographer and Social Worker.  A New York native, Leslye Abbey has traveled the world creating films that reflect the human spirit. Leslye began to develop a love for photography while living in New Mexico and working as Social Worker with Southwest American Indians.  Her passion for photography paved the way for her growth as she launched into videography.  Leslye has been in private practice as a Clinical Social Worker in North Bellmore, New York since 1986.

In 1998, Leslye journeyed to India and Nepal, where she created the documentary Dharamsala/Tibet in Exile.  This compelling feature-length documentary chronicling the life of Tibetans in political exile won the 1999 Humanitarian award at the Long Island International film Expo.  Leslye’s second documentary, Bob’s Rolling Reefer, about a cross-country truck driver won the award for best documentary in 2000 at the same Festival. 

Award Winning Films: Caution: Show Dogs, the #1 show dog movie’s theme song was voted #1 by Song Writers Guild of America.  Bayou Landfall/The Houma Nation vs. The Hurricanes won the Allen Fortunoff Humanitarian Award in the 2006 Long Island International Film Expo. It has been in 7 film festivals, including Native American Film Festival, in San Francisco, California, The Native Spirit Film Festival 2007, London England and The Heard Museum Film Festival in Phoenix, Arizona.  In 2007, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, in Manitoba, Canada leased Bayou Landfall/The Houma Nation vs. The Hurricanes for five years.  Angels of the Basin, at its first screening, won the Best Historical Documentary in the 2007 New York International Independent Film And Video Festival. Let The Good Times Roll, another Louisiana based film, won Best Feature Documentary at the Long Island Film Festival in 2007.  LCN-TV, the Louisiana Superstation, will be showing Leslye’s 3 Louisiana-based movies.

Currently the Cinema Guild, a New York distribution company on Madison Avenue, is distributing three of her documentaries.  Other films she has made are Cindy the Tattoo Maven, The Pink City, Jewels of Jaipur, Iowa State Fair, The Return, have been shown at film festivals and libraries.  Her films are at many prestigious universities including Yale, Howard, Brown, American Professional University, New York University, Columbia, and others through out the United States.

Leslye’s photography has been exhibited at Nassau County African-American Museum featuring the women of Mali and at juried photography shows at the Freeport Memorial Library.  The Bellmore Memorial Library, Elmont Public Library and The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Freeport and Huntington, New York have exhibited her work. The Global Fund for Children 2006-2007 Annual Report photograph of Houma children.

Guest appearances on television and radio include: October, 2007 Leslye appeared on LCN-TV “Accent LA” in Gray, Louisiana, Women’s Radio interview with Pat Lynch, Editor in Chief, KILI Radio on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota and CIFA Radio in Nova Scotia, Canada.  “The Sandra Lee Show” on Cable TV and Indian Television (ITV) in Queens, New York.   Leslye has also been featured in the travel book, Travels Along the Edge: 40 Ultimate Adventures for the Modern Nomad.