EMMAI ALAQUIVA (Photo by Lauryn Halahurich)
Google’s highly-acclaimed “Year End” recap is a two-minute montage of the most popular Google searches, which include some of the most powerful videos captured in the world.
As of Dec. 27, it has more than 181 million views on YouTube, which is owned by Google.
One of the videos featured in the two-minute film is Pittsburgh’s own Emmai Alaquiva’s video he took of actress Sandra Oh in Pittsburgh, during a “Stop Asian Hate” rally in March.
Alaquiva said that “the contrast of Oh’s plea against the bellicose of rising hatred illustrated that all voices — including those of celebrities — are needed to defeat the rising tide of hatred and intolerance.”
In November, Google selected Alaquiva as a contributing film director to collaborate on the 2021 Google Year End Search Film. You can find Alaquiva’s video he shot in the Year End Search Film at around the 1:15 mark.
EMMAI ALAQUIVA (Photo by Lauryn Halahurich)
For the past decade, Alaquiva — who owns digital multimedia agency Ya MomzHouse, Inc. — has utilized his flair for capturing impactful moments with his unique brand of cinematic story-telling. His images have been utilized by The Root, Good Morning America, PR News, the City of Pittsburgh, and even recognized by President Barack Obama via the BMe 100 initiative.
In 2020, while documenting the unrest around the global pandemic and the aftermath of social unrest, Alaquiva wrote and directed, “Unspeakable,” a riveting PSA featuring a cast from the deaf and hard of hearing community, inspired by his 8-year-old daughter that charges viewers to challenge their own biases.
Alaquiva is a board member of Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the recent winner of two 2021 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards for his work surrounding social justice.
Alaquiva is also a photo contributor to the New Pittsburgh Courier, and has won state and national awards for his coverage of, among other things, the George Floyd protests in Pittsburgh, for the Courier.
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