Premiering November 3, 2020 TVO's Original Picture My Face: The Story of Teenage Head, A BioPic of Canada's Notorious Glamour-Punk Band

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Toronto. October 21, 2020. FeltFilm and TVO are pleased to announce the world broadcast and online premiere of the TVO Original, Picture My Face: The Story of Teenage Head, Tuesday, November 3, 2020 at 9 pm ET on TVO and tvo.org.

Written and directed by award-winning Douglas Arrowsmith (Love Shines, the critically acclaimed feature documentary about Canadian songwriter – Audience Choice winner at SXSW, and the upcoming feature documentary on Burton Cummings), Picture My Face: The Story of Teenage Head, is produced by Arrowsmith and executive produced by Karen Melvin (Love Shines, The Klondike Gold Rush).

Canada's notorious glamour-punk band Teenage Head is determined to enter the limelight once again some 40 years after causing the legendary punk rock riots at 's Ontario Place. But first they need to save their founder and lead guitarist from a crippling depression.

Picture My Face: The Story of Teenage Head, features appearances by Marky Ramone, Rob Baker (Tragically Hip), legendary punk writers Jon Savage, Nina Antonia (New York Dolls), never-before- seen 16mm colour transfers from Heatwave Festival (the “Canadian Woodstock”), access to the band’s extensive photo archive, and rare 16mm b/w footage from “The Crash ’n’ Burn”, 1977 show.. The story reveals the birth of the young artists in conversations at the back of English class which soon develop into basement jams and the beginnings of song-writing while riding their dirt- bikes, building forts, and playing baseball together. A rare alchemy achieved in their basements in Hamilton, soon launches them onto the world stage—with two gold albums and a chance to break widely into the United States—a series of setbacks changes their destiny. Held together by their early friendships and the music, itself, the film rests upon a powerful present-day story through lead guitarist, Gord Lewis, who struggles to overcome depression following the loss of their frontman Frankie “Venom” Kerr.

"These guys solved all the awkwardness of high school by forming a band and inventing an unmistakable sound and style and attitude. Picture My Face: The Story of Teenage Head really becomes a story about founding member and lead guitarist Gord Lewis whose struggle with depression was sparked by the loss of their frontman Frankie Venom. I didn't set out to make a 'biopic'; instead, I wanted to find a present-day story ignited by the potency of the band's past. The relationship artists have with melancholy and with its more incapacitating cousin, depression, is also an area I've written about," said director, Douglas Arrowsmith.

Arrowsmith continued, "We brought in Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown editor, Eric Lasby, who latched onto the story right away and found all the right sparkplugs. And, of course, the cinematography is done by John Price (Manufactured Landscapes, Hardcore Logo II) who I’ve worked with before and we’re a pretty great combo for these types of stories," said director, Douglas Arrowsmith.

On Tuesday, November 3, 2020, TVO Original Picture My Face: The Story of Teenage Head, will premiere on TVO. It will then be available to stream across Canada on tvo.org and TVO's YouTube Channel. It will also rebroadcast on TVO on Saturday, November 7 at 9 pm ET and Sunday, November 8 at 10:30 pm ET.

ABOUT DOUGLAS ARROWSMITH Douglas Arrowsmith is a Toronto-based director and producer. His recent film, The Klondike Gold Rush, documents the harrowing story of the Alaska-Yukon gold rush stampeders and was broadcast across America on PBS. Arrowsmith also directed the critically acclaimed film Love Shines (BBC Four/TMN) about singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith (Canadian Screen Awards for Best Direction and Best Performing Arts documentary). The film garnered numerous festival credits (VIFF, HotDocs, Available Light) and won an Audience Choice Award at Austin's SXSW. His Memory & Desire, a film commissioned by Stephen (“Tin Tin”) Duffy (the founding singer of Duran Duran) received a nomination for the prestigious Sound & Vision Award at Copenhagen’s CPH: DOX Festival in 2009. His company FELTFILM, is a commercial video and documentary production agency for icons and brands, and most recently produced Margaret Atwood's tribute to her hero Ursula K LeGuin (Literary Arts, Oregon). Arrowsmith has also been commissioned by numerous UK artists to complete video work including: singer/songwriter Lloyd Cole, Stephen Duffy, and the celebrity designer Nicky Haslam. Published works include Literature and The Emotions in the Encyclopaedia of Human Emotions (Prentice-Hall); Melancholy in the Field of Lost Objects (Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies 2006); and Witness to a City: David Miller's Toronto (2010 Cormorant Books), which is a collection of moving portraits about extraordinary Toronto citizens.

About TVO Since 1970, TVO has existed to ignite the potential in everyone through the power of learning. Through impactful digital education products, in-depth current affairs, thought-provoking TVO Original documentaries, and award-winning TVOkids content, we prepare Ontarians for success in school and life. As we mark our 50th year, TVO’s ongoing evolution as a modern digital learning and media organization prepares us to serve Ontarians for generations to come. TVO is funded primarily by the Province of Ontario, and is a registered charity supported by thousands of sponsors and donors. For more information, visit tvo.org and tvokids.com.

Media Contact: Cynthia Amsden, Roundstone Communication, [email protected] 416.910.7740