Alabama A&M University alumnus Henry Panion III, who was a major force in the production of the February 13 Alabama Public Television (APT) concert documentary “Dreams of Hope,” has received critical acclaim via the Telly Awards for excellence in video and television.
The 41st annual Telly Awards awarded the film the Gold Telly for Education and 12 Silver and Bronze awards for music, directing, editing, social impact, writing, cinematography and other categories.
Panion is a composer, arranger, conductor and professor in the Department of Music at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The professor produced and co-directed (with filmmaker David L. Macon) the documentary, as well as provided original music.
“Dreams of Hope” tells the story of a historic concert at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, more than 50 years after a hate crime there that killed four African American girls.
Conducted by Panion, the concert performance features musical instruments that serve as symbols of hope—among them violins restored from Holocaust concentration camps. The documentary adds behind-the-scenes interviews which help celebrate the resilience of those who have faced hate, discrimination and racism.