Alert Bay: My Life So Far
July 9th, 2009 by James BridleThe first programme in the latest Global Perspectives series, an annual collaboration between the World Service and eight other broadcasters, this year taking 'islands' as its theme. And once again, it's very good. [MP3]
Alert Bay - My Life So Far was created from recordings gathered by five young people from Alert Bay, a remote island off the west coast of Canada. The young people, aged 11 to 17, were trained by two producers from the Canadian Broadcating Corporation. The producers lent them recording equipment and gave them a simple task: 'Tell us about where you live. Tell us about your life.'
If you're wondering where Alert Bay is, it's here and there are more pictures here and a website here.
July 9th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Funny. I listened to these while *in* Alert Bay in April – they’d just been broadcast on CBC. They were broadcast separately – each presenter individually, which I think is even better. You can hear the original versions here:
http://www.cbc.ca/outfront/alertbay/
I met Alvin’s uncle, Sean, who’s a carver in the (haunted) basement of the old residential school, and who told me that Alvin’s gone back to Vancouver. He’d been stabbed there, which was why he’d come home to the island. I hope this gives him a new direction & opportunities. I think he’s an amazing presenter – particularly in the CBC version, where you spend 10 minutes taking a walk through town with him.
It captures the atmosphere and people pretty well, which is quite a feat because it’s an extraordinary place. Outrageously beautiful. Supernatural. Edge of the world. I was shooting a short up there, which turned into something else. Just moved back to London, so haven’t had a chance to cut it yet. Or work out what to do with what happened to me up there.
Anyway, I thought when I first heard it that it’s the best radio I’d heard in a long time. Great that it made it to the BBC and that you picked it up here.
July 9th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
superb program. teenage eloquence is a rare and beautiful thing.
July 16th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
So lovely and so subtly but definitely different from anything that would be produced in Britain. And thanks to Rupert for the CBC link.