Behind-the-scenes photo of filmmaker Tom Bell, left, with Ray Sapirstein, who plays the euphonium for the band Bondeko. The documentary depicts the Portland band performing on the air. Contributed / Roger McCord

Filmmaker, former journalist and Yarmouth resident Tom Bell is cleaning up the state’s summer film competitions with his short film “An Extraordinary Place,” a 32-minute documentary about Portland’s indie radio station, WMPG.

“An Extraordinary Place” won the Tourmaline Prize for best Maine-made short film at the 27th Maine International Film Festival in July, as well as Best Maine Film at the Maine Outdoor Film Festival, also in July.

The film beat out 19 other films for Maine-made shorts for the Tourmaline Prize, which was selected via jury. “It’s very satisfying,” said Bell, reflecting on his win.

He thinks part of the reason the film has resonated is because it is fundamentally a story about human connection. “The film is about a quirky little radio station in Portland, but it’s really a lot more. It’s about community and the love that the volunteer DJs have for music, the station and each other,” he told The Forecaster.

Bell said he thought of the film as lighthearted and entertaining, different from many documentaries that probe serious social issues. “But a friend told me, he said ‘no, Tom, this (film) doesn’t address a problem, it offers a solution … one of the biggest problems in society now is loneliness,’” he said.

“The solution it offers is not to be a DJ, but to be part of something bigger than you.”

Bell worked as a reporter with the Portland Press Herald for over 15 years, and said the convention of a “nut graf” – a paragraph or sentence early in a news story that tells the reader what the story is about – served as a guide during the editing and filmmaking process.

“(The nut graf) was provided by (DJ) David Pence, who explains about a third of the way through the film … what the radio station is about, and he also provides the title when he says ‘It’s an extraordinary place.’” Pence’s DJ name is Mister Pence and his show, “Radio Junk Drawer,” plays on Wednesdays at 4 p.m.

Filmmaker Tom Bell poses with his award after winning the Tourmaline Prize at the Maine International Film Festival in July. Contributed photo by John T. Meader

The movie follows the colorful characters at the radio station, which is run by three staff members and a long list of volunteers and volunteer DJs, as they make music and reflect on the community forged at the station. Bell is the director and editor of the film, and Annella Linton, WMPG’s development director, was a “thought partner” for the project and is also the film’s producer.

The WMPG radio station is located in Portland on Bedford Street at the University of Southern Maine Portland campus and it is affiliated with the college. WMPG broadcasts locally on 90.9 FM.

During his 9-to-5, Bell is the communications director for the Greater Portland Council of Governments, which has a weekly show on WMPG called “Let’s Connect Greater Portland.” When that show started about a year and a half ago, Bell would go to the station every week to prepare for it and do the audio engineering. He started to notice the artwork on the walls, the vast music library, and the colorful characters that would cycle in and out of the station.

He thought WMPG would make a good subject for a short film (Bell also makes short films and videos for commercial clients through his firm, Wicked Creative Film Co.). In October, he showed the staff and volunteers of WMPG the film during a party celebrating the 50th anniversary of the station. “People were moved emotionally because I think the film elevated what they do.”

Bobby Shaddox, a DJ at WMPG whose stage name is DJ Shaxx, has been with the station for roughly 10 years. During his tenure he would often say to himself or his wife “someone needs to make a movie about this.”

Greg Bazinet from Back Bay Connections records audio from Cody O’Brien. The documentary profiles a group of DJs who have cognitive disabilities and share their love of music every Saturday morning on their show, “Unique Perspectives Radio Hour.” Contributed photo by Tom Bell

Shaddox’s show “Left of the Dial” – which airs on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. –  is dedicated to punk, post punk, new wave and alternative music from the ’70s, ’80 and ’90s. “Really the bread and butter of college rock from those three decades,” he said.

“I spin as much vinyl as possible,” he said.

“The thing I like to say is that (Bell) has made visual what is typically invisible and flowing out on the airwaves … this documentary allows everyone – not just the audience but volunteers – to see everything that happens at this radio station over a period of time. And it’s phenomenal,” Shaddox said.

Bell said viewers can “definitely” expect more of this type of filmmaking from him in future. He is already working on a film about a band that appears in “An Extraordinary Place” – the Ideal Maine Social Aid & Sanctuary Band, a music group for instrument players of all skill levels.

“I’ve done a number of documentaries for clients, and I’ll continue to do that, but it was a very satisfying project to make something that was more like art.”