Happy 2017! As much of an absolute delight as it is running this blog, the truth of the matter is social media is where it’s at. We post much more frequently on our Facebook page so we invite you to join us there going forward, for updates on the film and other radio tidbits.
Click below to like the Facebook page and follow us there.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Am-What-I-Play/297875140261718
If you haven’t already, hopefully you will get to see the film in 2017. Enjoy!
Tonight, August 14th, at 9:00 pm EST, I Am What I Play will have its Canadian television premiere on CBC’s The Documentary Channel:
http://www.cbc.ca/documentarychannel/docs/i-am-what-i-play
We are also pleased to announce an international distribution deal with Blue Ant Media. They took the film to France earlier this year for MIPCOM, the annual international broadcasting trade show.
http://blueantmedia.ca/portfolio/i-am-what-i-play/
Stay tuned to this blog for updates on other broadcast screenings.
We showed the film for the first time to a European audience at the biggest radio conference in the world, Radio Days Europe. This year, the conference was held in Paris March 13-15. Director Roger King was invited to Paris to present the screening and participate in a Q & A hosted by Radio Futurologist James Cridland. It was a tough assignment to have to go to Paris but Roger bravely agreed to attend. Here’s an interview with the Director in advance of the screening.
http://www.radiodayseurope.com/news/european-documentary-premiere
Director Roger King introducing I Am What I Play in Paris. Also pictured, moderator James Cridland.
We’re a month into 2016 and we’ve got lots of news coming down the pipe in the coming weeks about I Am What I Play. First off, we continue to set up festival and special screenings. One of the stars of the film, Pat O’Day, finally got to see the film for the first time in January at a special one night screening in Bellingham, Washington at the Pickford Film Center. We’re told a full house enjoyed the screening and Q & A with Pat after the show.
There are back to back screenings coming up at Wellfleet Preservation Hall near Boston, as part of their Independent Documentary Series. Details here: http://www.wellfleetpreservationhall.org/index.php/wellfleet-preservation-hall-events/wellfleet-preservation-hall-film/event/4524-independent-documentary-series-i-am-what-i-play
There will also be another Boston area screening in late February with special guest Meg Griffin! Keep watching this space for details and of course have a look at our Screenings page on this site for more regular updates.
And in a few days, we will have amazing news about a special screening in Europe AND future broadcasts on Canadian Television.
Lots in the works!
And of course, we must say RIP to David Bowie who died on January 16. He and is representatives were so easy to deal with when trying to secure the rights to use the song DJ in the film. Of course, we took the title of the movie from a line in that great Bowie tune. He was always a true artist right to the end.
Finally, in our last entry, we highlighted a screening that was about to happen at The Regent Theater in Boston in late December. It was a smashing success with over 300 guests in attendance who enjoyed a special pre-screening meet & greet with Charles Laquidara. Some pics below.
Director Roger King and Charles Laquidara before the screening. Every theater should have a bar!
We’re very excited about a return film screening in Boston on December 23 at the legendary Regent Theater. This is kind of a homecoming for Charles Laquidara as the evening is being presented as An Evening With Charles…
Details and ticket info here:
Director Roger King will also be in attendance.
Here’s a cool interview with Charles about the event, the movie and his Internet radio show:
http://www.examiner.com/article/charles-laquidara-the-rock-of-boston
Given that on college stations today, you still find the free form spirit highlighted in the film, we are happy to be part of events that raise a little money for college radio. Loyalist College and 91X in Belleville, Ontario are presenting a special screening of the film on Wednesday, November 25. We hope to do more events like this with other college radio stations in the coming months:
We have neglected you, the faithful blog reader and for that, deep apologies. Our excuse is we’ve been screening the film and arranging other screenings. In fact, we got really clever and created an I Am What I Play Screenings page right on this site. No more guessing where the film might be playing. You can visit the Screenings page any time to get the up-to-the minute report.
We had a great time at the Beacon International Film Festival in late September. Beacon is a 90 minute train ride from New York City and they’ve carved out a nice artistic community there. I Am What I Play opened the festival this year and we encourage film fans to keep an eye on Beacon in future years.
We had another screening in Toronto on October 15 as part of the Reel Independent Film Festival. It was at the same theater as our Canadian premiere earlier this year – The Royal Cinema. Director Roger King and film subject David Marsden were in attendance and hosted a spirited Q & A after the screening.
Roger went to high-school in Kitchener-Waterloo (about an hour from Toronto) and will host a special presentation of the movie on October 29th at the beautiful rep cinema, The Princess Theater. Tickets only available at this link:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2327724
Stay tuned for news on special screenings later this year in Vancouver and Boston, among other cities. We are taking this to radio & music fans, one city at a time!
Director Roger King joined Steve Anthony on CP24 Breakfast Television in Toronto, October 15th, 2015.
The Princess Cinema. Waterloo, Ontario.
The Jacob Burns screening was apparently a big success. A sold out crowd we’re told! Meg Griffin was in attendance and did a well-received Q & A about her radio career, hosted by WFUV’s Rita Houston who also appears in the film. Below are some pics that were posted on social media:
From left to right: Rita Houston, Meg Griffin, Karen Goodman – Jacob Burns Programmer
Q & A with Rita Houston and Meg Griffin. Photos c-2015 Gayle Miller
I Am What I Play will screen as part of the Jacob Burns Center’s “Sounds of Summer” Music Documentary series on August 18th at 7:30 pm. The Jacob Burns center is a really cool film/cultural arts center, located about 30 minutes north of New York City.
This screening will be extra special because Meg Griffin will be in attendance, doing a Q & A after the film with Rita Houston, a legendary DJ herself who hosts and programs at WFUV in New York. Rita also appears in the film.
It should be a great night!
For tickets and more information, click here:
https://www.burnsfilmcenter.org/films/buy-tickets?date=1439870400
Nice piece by U.S. radio consultant Fred Jacobs on how broadcasters should recommit to developing on-air talent in radio. Why not start with evening and night-time DJ’s? The time of night when you can take chances. And yes, Fred does mention a certain documentary:
http://jacobsmediablog.com/2015/07/14/the-revenge-of-the-dj/
