DreamPlay awarded “Artist of the Year” at the inaugural Newark Arts Honors

Newark Arts recognizes DreamPlay for over a decade of creative media that “illuminates voices, stories, and dreams”

Delilah Navarro, Igor Alves and Lauren LeBeaux Craig at the Newark Arts Honors.

Igor Alves receives the Artist of the Year award at Newark Arts Honors.

Igor Alves accepting Newark Arts Honor Award for DreamPlay Media.

Igor Alves, Emily Suzuki, Harold Jimenez at the Newark Arts Honors Ceremony

Newark Arts leaders at Consigliere for the Newark Arts Honors.

Newark Arts held its inaugural Newark Arts Honors at Consigliere in Newark.

Event photography by KB Visuals.

”We honor DreamPlay Media with the Community Artist of the Year Award for creating platforms where voices matter, stories soar, and joy becomes visible.

DreamPlay Media: Impactful creative media and storytelling with soul

DreamPlay Media is a socially-minded creative media agency, film production company and digital media publisher. DreamPlay became active in 2011, co-founded by brothers Igor Alves and Yuri Alves, first-generation immigrants from Brazil, born to Portuguese parents, who grew up in the Ironbound section of Newark – a city they have championed for over 30 years. DreamPlay has arguably become the leading, most prolific storytelling and filmmaking group in the greater Newark area.

On the way to completing close to 1000 projects, DreamPlay has earned the trust of clients, partners and anchor institutions, aiming to elevate expectations (and procurement) around locally-produced, “world-class storytelling.” The company has won over two dozen industry awards, from video to photography, from web design to graphic design.

Hallway scene with camera operator walking backwards at Ford Foundation

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The DreamPlay Media Journey

In 2013, working from their home studio, Igor, Yuri and a small team created their seminal projects: the “Meet in the Ironbound” tourism and the “A King’s Love in Newark” MLK celebration short films. Since then, key projects include the “20 Stories of Strength” campaign with Prudential, the “Newark 350” city anniversary campaign, and the “Welcome to Your New HQ: Newark” campaign, as well as work with Nike, Red Bull, NJ Devils, AeroFarms, and Samsung Next. DreamPlay has been especially committed to spotlighting artist-led projects in Newark, including the “Gateways to Newark” mural on McCarter Highway with NDD, “Four Corners Public Arts,” with PES, “Murals for Justice” with Rutgers, the “Newark Artist Collaboration” with Audible, the “Harriet Tubman Monument Project” with the City of Newark, and most recently, the “Newark Landmark Sign” with Newark Happening.

1st Assistant Camera and Director discussing location and camera positions

Director discussing a jail door slamming shut

assortment of crew capturing boxing scene at multiple angles

Gaffer setting up lights and looking at director.

Dir. Yuri and Camera Op focused on slider

Dir. Yuri discussing performance and process with Maurice Chestnut

”We recognize DreamPlay as a creative force dedicated to illuminating voices, stories, and dreams that might otherwise go unseen.
Newark Arts

DreamPlay TV Newark: A Deep Investment in Local Cinematic Storytelling

In 2018, DreamPlay took their arts collaboration further by partnering directly with and featuring local artists, poets, dancers and musicians, when they launched a city-inspired, cinematic storytelling hub: DreamPlay TV | Newark: DreamPlay.TV now features 100+ powerful visual stories, performances and films. Notable original series include “DreamPlay Sessions,” “Upgraded,” “One Take Poetry,” and “Artist at Work.”

The platform represented a massive investment of resources for the small company, as its pro-bono project spend now exceeds an estimated $600K, while DreamPlay’s total pro-bono work, primarily committed in Newark, is nearing $1 million.

Beyond this, DreamPlay’s contributions include hiring over 100 people across various projects, hosting over 20 local college interns, helping to kickstart the Newark Office of Film and Television, being a community partner founder at Express Newark, and organizing 8 memorable film screenings, including at CityPlex12 Cinemas, Sport Club Português, and the Newark Museum of Art.

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DreamPlay Films: Award-winning New Jersey Stories Worldwide, including Festival and Emmy® Honors

The company’s DreamPlay Films division, lead by co-founder Yuri Alves, has produced sixteen award-winning short films, almost all filmed in Newark, earning close to 30 festival awards and dozens of selections worldwide, including for GRIND, On the Cusp, Echoes of Fado, and Broken Clouds. During the pandemic period, DreamPlay produced four powerful concert films with the NJ Symphony: “TRANSCEND” and the “EMERGE” trilogy. The films streamed on PBS, and along with GRIND, won 2 Emmy® Awards and 4 Emmy® Nominations in the Mid-Atlantic Region. More recently, DreamPlay produced, “BLACK MOSES RISING: The Making of the Harriet Tubman Monument in Newark,” and “LIBERATION: Poetry Films Inspired by Harriet Tubman,” each earning 1 Emmy® Award nomination in the NY Region.

”In a world saturated with noise, DreamPlay act as curators of clarity, turning dreams into visual narratives, bringing cultural depth to the screen, and uplifting underrepresented perspectives through media.
Newark Arts

All the while, DreamPlay has developed several narrative feature film scripts, and for close to 15 years, it has worked on a feature length documentary set in Newark, “Paint the Rust.” Yuri in particular has dedicated thousands upon thousands of hours to this stunning film: a testament to his love for cinema and for fellow dreamers from Newark. The film is currently in consideration at the Sundance, SXSW (South by Southwest) and Berlinale film festivals, among others.