REVIEW - An Extraordinary Place (Directed by Tom Bell)

WMPG 90.9FM is the premier community radio station of southern Maine, USA; situated on the campus of the Univeristy of Southern Maine, it was established in 1973, and now boasts a global reach, serving an international community of listeners with live radio (which can be streamed online via the magic of the internet), as well as a plethora of popular podcast shows. Directed by Tom Bell (The Wicked Creative Film Company), this engaging short documentary that tells the story of WMPG 90.9FM, from the perspectives of some of the people who make up this community, and who work in this extraordinary place.

An Extraordinary Place gives us a refreshing look behind the scenes at a bustling local radio station in the 21st century, and not only demonstrates the immense value such radio stations can bring to local communities, but also the real service they can do in preserving rare and historical recordings which have not been digitised or cannot found in online archives or music streaming platforms like iTunes or Spotify - and would otherwise be lost forever to all but a few collectors.

We are introduced to a range of presenters and DJs; including Rosita Reyes who presents a show called 'Latinos' on Saturdays between 9.00am and 10.30am EDT; Ice Ingram who presents a show called 'Caribbean Flava' on Saturdays between 11.30m and 1.30pm EDT; Lincoln Peirce who presents a show called 'South by Southwest' on Mondays between 8.30am and 10.00am EDT; Kestrel Wilcox who presents a show called 'B4 the Drop' on alternating Saturdays between 1.30pm and 3.00pm EDT; Matt Little-Farmer who presents a show called 'Get Hot or Go Home!' on Saturdays between 3.00pm and 5.00pm EDT; and David Pence who presents a show called 'Radio Junk Drawer' on Wednesdays between 4.00pm and 5.30pm EDT - to name but a few!

However, a standout star of this documentary is the energetic and eccentric Bobby Shaddox AKA DJ Shaxx who presents his show 'Left of the Dial' on Wednesdays between 5.30pm and 7.00pm EDT - where he routinely treats his loyal listeners to weather forecasts by karaoke!

Hearing the testimonies of these individuals, and their stories of how the community radio station enriches their lives and those of their listeners is heartwarming, and will no doubt have any hardcore radioheads who watch, rushing away to dust off their Bakelite wirelesses and hurriedly adjusting their antennas.

WMPG 90.9FM as a radio station and community service certainly lives up to the name, and undoubtedly is An Extraordinary Place, but crucially (and perhaps obviously) it transcends this - as the radio station itself is not confined to the building from where it is broadcast - it is also to be found in the cars and homes of its community of listeners, it is in the headphones of the people downloading and listening to their podcasts, all over the world - which can only mean that WMPG is making the the rest of the world a little more extraordinary too.

Well-assembled and with a running time of just over 30 minutes, this is easy watching and will even be digestible for those with short attention spans. This short documentary will be enjoyed by fans of Americana, factual content, documentaries, and of course, community radio.