A Caribbean music documentary called Parang has received an Emmy nomination, the top award for television in the US.
Brooklyn-based Haitian filmmaker, Emmanuel "Mano" Alexandre Jr, who was producer, cinematographer and editor of the film, announced the nomination on his Facebook page manosalon.live.
"I’m proud to announce that Manosalon...got nominated for an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The film in question is Parang with Artist and Ethnomusicologist (Dr) Danielle Brown. This is our very first nomination in our kick-off year!"
[caption id="attachment_899718" align="alignnone" width="696"] Brooklyn-based Haitian filmmaker Emmanuel "Mano" Alexandre Jr's Parang, a Caribbean music documentary, has received an Emmy nomination, the top award for television in the US.
- Photo courtesy Maria Rosella Molinu[/caption]
In an interview with africologymedia.com Alexandre said his given name is Emmanuel Alexandre Jr but he is called "Mãno" which is short for Emmanuel in Haitian/Kreyol. He was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and came to the United States just as he was turning 14 in 1990. He has a bachelor’s degree in media studies/journalism from (CUNY) Hunter College and an MFA in cinematography and documentary directing from (CUNY) City College. Alexandre teaches filmmaking at CUNY and he writes, edits, directs, produces and shoots for both fiction films and documentaries.
"I guess that makes me a filmmaker."
Brown in a post on mypeopletellstories.com said in 2018 Alexandre became interested in My People Tell Stories, an initiative she founded in November 2014 to "promote and validate the knowledge produced by people of colour and subsequently create an education system that is more diverse, equitable, and inclusive." My People Tell Stories provides services in arts education, including professional development for teachers, artists, and researchers who seek to centre diverse, inclusive, and equitable practices in their work.
She said Alexandre asked permission to film some of her ongoing work as an artist-scholar and educator.
"Three years later, the resulting film project, Parang, has been nominated for an Emmy Award! Congratulations to Mano for a well-earned nomination."
According to mypeopletellstories.com Brown is an artist, scholar, and entrepreneur. She earned a doctorate in music from New York University with a concentration in ethnomusicology and specialisation in the music of Latin America and the Caribbean. She is a former Assistant Professor of Music History and Cultures at Syracuse University, and has lectured at various colleges and universities. She has worked with elementary, middle, and high school students, and is certified in the Kodály method (a way of developing musical skills and teaching musical concepts beginning in very young children).
[caption id="attachment_899717" align="alignnone" width="568"] In the opening of Parang Dr Danielle Brown, artist, scholar, educator and ethnomu
