[Professional Blog] Cranky Again

CBC NL doesn’t produce much in the way of local TV programs anymore, certainly not like it used a couple of decades ago – but it still showcases the work of local filmmakers, which is important.

So far, CBC NL’s Summer Series has presented four local productions in its Summer Series, which airs Fridays. It’s too late to tell you about those. However, there is still time to catch two more documentaries, before the summer winds down.

One is a repeat of a particularly powerful Land and Sea program called "The Perfect Storm", which airs September 4 at 8:30 pm. The show examines the shipwreck of the Atlantic Prize, and how its crew of six survived almost seven hours floating in the freezing Atlantic.

But I am most intrigued by "Cranky", a documentary by Christopher Richardson that promises to be entertaining indeed. I missed this, when it first aired June 2009 on the Documentary Channel. Here’s the promotional blurb, as supplied by CBC:

Once a year, a grueling open sea race is run between two ruggedly beautiful islands in the North Atlantic. The Great Fogo Island Punt Race to There and Back is a 16 kilometer test of endurance and strategy in small, traditionally built wooden punts.

In the inaugural race, Aiden Adams and Aneas Emberley placed first; their names the first to grace the Golden Oars trophy. Jim Edwards and Dave Diamond were a close second in a punt Jim built himself.

A year later, Aiden and Jim will meet again. This time with 19 other teams eager for bragging rights. But Jim now has a new punt. A punt he built specifically for the rematch. He’s made her a little tippy – or, as the locals call it, cranky – so she’ll ride the waves with ease. Is a cranky punt the key to victory?

CRANKY is an endearing story of three teams competing to be local champions in an open sea race like no other in North America. It is also a poignant look at an island way of life and a seafaring culture that has changed little over the centuries.

"Cranky" airs August 28 at 8:30 pm, on CBC.

Also, be watching the Documentary Channel on September 21 for the broadcast premiere of “Where’s My Goat?”, another entertaining and offbeat documentary by Richardson. More on this later…