DreamPlay Films and director Yuri Alves won two EMMY® Awards for films produced in Newark. At a gala ceremony in Philadelphia, the immersive concert film EMERGE Part 1 won in the “Arts – Long Form” category and director-editor Yuri Alves also won in the “Editing” category in the Mid-Atlantic Region, earned for his work on GRIND and EMERGE Part 3. Director Yuri Alves and producer Igor Alves were joined at the awards event by EMERGE star and New Jersey Symphony Music Director Xian Zhang, who also received an EMMY® award.
The individual awardees include: (2x) Yuri Alves, Director + Editing, Igor Alves, Producer, Xian Zhang, Writer / Musical Arrangement, Caroline Sincaruk, Camera Operator, Michael Gomes, Camera Operator, Victor Buitrago, Editor. DreamPlay Films and Yuri Alves also earned Emmy® nominations for TRANSCEND, in the “Documentary” category, and EMERGE Part 2, in the “Long Form Program” category. All nominated films were broadcast by NJPBS and PBS online, where they remain available to watch.
The four EMMY® nominations and two wins are the first for DreamPlay Films and Yuri Alves, as well as for the New Jersey Symphony, which is celebrating its centennial anniversary year. DreamPlay Films is part of DreamPlay Media, a creative media company co-founded a decade ago by brothers Igor Alves and Yuri Alves, each born in Brazil and raised in Newark. DreamPlay has earned over 20 marketing awards and 20-plus film awards, mostly for work produced in New Jersey.
For EMERGE, Alves and the DreamPlay Films team captured the NJ Symphony performances live at NJPAC with a highly immersive and uniquely intimate camera approach, while filming on ultra-high-definition RED cinema cameras. EMERGE expands the universe of orchestral music through a mix of live stage performance, stunning visuals, mesmerizing dance sequences and format-bending elements on and off stage.
GRIND is a format-bending profile of Robert Black Wilmote, directed by Yuri Alves, where reveals the story of a Liberian refugee forced to flee the most drastic and terrible circumstances imaginable. Through dramatic reenactments, featuring Robert Wilmote himself, we discover how Robert’s struggle led him from prison life on to his journey as an inspiration to millions of people.
Director Yuri Alves says: “I am thrilled to have won these EMMY Awards, not just on behalf of our films but also on behalf of the crew and artists who collaborated with me. For EMERGE, we aimed to ambitiously exceed audience expectations for a filmed orchestral performance – in these films, we really see Xian, the orchestra and the special guests at their best and from unique vantage points. For GRIND, I knew that Robert had an incredible life story to share and that he was the best person to star in it – he is a phenomenon. I think people will be excited and surprised by both this trilogy and the documentary.”
Producer Igor Alves says: “This tremendous collaboration, between Yuri, the DreamPlay team, Xian, NJ Symphony and the musicians has created a strikingly memorable series. I hope these awards help audiences discover the EMERGE trilogy and treasure its unique sensibility and artistic quality above all, while appreciating how it advances diversity: here we have a project featuring a female Asian conductor, musical works by composers of color, in a film directed by a Brazilian immigrant raised in Newark, with images featuring dancers and residents of color from the neighboring area. As for GRIND, I think Yuri and Robert are a powerhouse duo, with Yuri and a tight team creating a truly compelling portrait of a man on a journey to higher purpose.”
EMERGE + GRIND Red Carpet Screening and Emmy® Awards Celebration
A Yuri Alves Films Showcase
Dec. 03, 2022: Doors open 6pm @ CityPlex12
DreamPlay Media, in association with Plusable and the New Jersey Symphony, presents the EMERGE + GRIND Red Carpet Live Film Premiere and Emmy® Celebration of our Emmy® Award winning films, EMERGE: An NJ Symphony Concert Film, starring Xian Zhang, and GRIND, starring Robert Wilmote (aka “NDO Champ”). Both films are directed by filmmaker Yuri Alves. The EMERGE + GRIND Red Carpet Live Premiere and Emmy® Awards Celebration will take place at the CityPlex12 Newark Theater’s SHAQ-DX, the theater’s premier auditorium.
FREE ENTRY WITH RSVP: https://dreamplaymedia.com/screening
* Dress to Impress *
CityPlex12 Newark Theater (360-394 Springfield Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103)
FREE PARKING at main parking lot (enter via 16th Avenue)
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
6:00pm Doors open / Red Carpet Reception
7:00pm Welcome Remarks
7:05pm Filmmaker Panel: director Yuri Alves and producer Igor Alves
7:20pm Emmy® Award Celebration w/ DreamPlay + NJ Symphony + NDO Champ
7:40pm Film Screening: TRANSCEND (excerpt), Tap With Me, The Portal, , GRIND, EMERGE: An NJ Symphony Concert Film ‘Maverick Cut’
9:00pm-2:00am After-Party at Allegro Grill and Lounge
Music by DJ Jon Canoo, DJ Miguel Casimiro + Live Music by performer/violinist J Read,
saxophonist Raphael Sax percussionist Carlos Ferreira.
PRESENTED BY DreamPlay Media, New Jersey Symphony and Plusable
SUPPORTED BY Newark Happening, The City of Newark, New Jersey, Newark Arts*, Allegro Grill & Lounge
* Made possible, in part, by The City of Newark Creative Catalyst Fund in partnership with Newark Arts.
