Elena Mannes is an award-winning independent documentary director/writer/producer whose honors include six Emmy Awards, a George Foster Peabody Award, two Directors Guild of America Awards, and nine Cine Golden Eagles.

 

            Mannes’s first book, The Power of Music: Pioneering Discoveries in the New Science of Song was published in 2011 by Walker & Co., Bloomsbury USA and is currently in its third printing. The paperback edition was published in January 2013. The book was based on a PBS primetime special that Mannes developed and created. The Music Instinct: Science & Song, a two—hour program exploring recent discoveries about the power of music and its connection to the body, the brain, and the world of nature aired in 2009. It won the Grand Prix at the Parisscience International Film Festival, the BANFF Science & Technology Prize as well as a CINE Special Jury Prize for Arts & Culture. Other programs Mannes has written, directed, and/or produced include a variety of series and specials such as: The Amazing Animal Mind (ABC Turning Point) God in Government; On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying (four—part series); Norman Rockwell: Painting America (American Masters), and the documentary film Amazing Grace with Bill Moyers which won an Emmy and Directors Guild Award for directing. The award—winning God and Politics: The Kingdom Divided won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, an Emmy for Outstanding Background Analysis of a Current Story, and a Cine Golden Eagle. Promises! Promises! won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.

 

            Ms. Mannes’ network credits include: Cover—Up at Ground Zero (ABC/Turning Point) which earned an Emmy for Outstanding Historical Documentary as well as documentaries on the anniversary of Woodstock in 1994, documentaries and segments for CBS Reports, 60 Minutes, and Prime Time Live (ABC). She also directed and produced a program for the Discovery Channel: The Great Gatsby (TLC 1997, Great Books Series).

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         Ms. Mannes received a B.A. from Smith College and a Masters Degree in International Politics from Johns Hopkins University.  www.mannesproductions.com includes additional information about the author and her past and current projects.