PBS sets September bow for CFNY alternative radio documentary
Matt Schichter’s CFNY: The Spirit of Radio will air on PBS after a deal with Canadian producer-distributor HighballTV.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
PBS has picked up CFNY: The Spirit of Radio, a documentary about the Canadian station that helped push punk, new wave and alternative music into the spotlight, Deadline reported.
The film is set to air on PBS in September and will also stream through PBS Passport and BPTM+. The U.S. run follows a PBS Docs agreement with Canadian producer-distributor HighballTV, according to Deadline.
Before the broadcast, director Matt Schichter’s documentary will get a U.S. community screening tour. In Canada, the film arrived earlier this year on TVO Docs after an acquisition deal, Deadline reported.
A small station with a big signal
CFNY: The Spirit of Radio traces the rise of CFNY, the station also known as 102.1 The Edge. According to Deadline, the station began in 1976 inside a modest suburban house north of Toronto and grew into a major force for punk, new wave and alternative radio.
The station remains on the air today and is owned by Corus, the Canadian media company.
The documentary focuses on how CFNY became a key home for music outside the mainstream during what Deadline described as the golden era of alternative radio. The film’s subject is a station that started small, then built a reputation that reached artists and listeners far beyond its original suburban base.
Rock names line up
The film includes interviews with a long list of musicians tied to the alternative and rock worlds, according to Deadline.
Featured artists include Rush’s Geddy Lee and Jim Kerr, Barenaked Ladies’ Steven Page, Metric’s Emily Haines, Billy Talent’s Ben Kowalewicz, New Order and Joy Division’s Peter Hook, The Cure’s Lol Tolhurst, OMD’s Andy McCluskey and Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley.
The score also comes with Canadian indie-rock pedigree. Deadline reported that Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning and Ohad Benchetrit created an original score for the film.
That music was recorded at several well-known studios and venues, including Abbey Road Studios, EastWest Studios, Grant Avenue Studio and Toronto’s El Mocambo, according to Deadline.
The team behind the film
Matthew Campagna produced CFNY: The Spirit of Radio for HighballTV.
The executive producers are Alan Cross, Barbara Hall, Chantal Jackson, Ivar Hamilton and Scot Turner, Deadline reported.
Campagna negotiated the PBS Docs deal with Kathryn Larsen on behalf of TBS, according to Deadline.
The September PBS debut gives the film a broader U.S. platform after its Canadian launch and planned community screenings. For a documentary about a station that built its name by championing alternative sounds, the move puts CFNY’s story in front of a new national audience.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.