Directed by Peter Hilgendorf

When Kevin Cole contemplated retirement (“a remix”) after an astonishing 50 years in the music business, director Peter Hilgendorf started thinking about how to mark it. A hashtag? A t-shirt? What about a little video?

Peter rallied a Seattle crew with a goal of 10 minutes of Kevin talking and 10 minutes of other people talking about Kevin’s 50 years in music.

By the end of the first two interviews, it was clear that this was not going to be a short video about some old white guy retiring. Peter saw that this was a universal story. A story of obsession, addiction, technology, and love. A story of the healing power of music. He started imagining RADIOHEART.

RADIOHEART is a documentary that explores the life and career of DJ Kevin Cole, following his journey from his disco DJ days in Minneapolis through the founding of alternative radio station REV 105, his role in launching Amazon’s first music store, and his pivotal influence on the groundbreaking Seattle radio station KEXP.

Where is the money going?

The funds raised will support paying fair, working rates for film crews in Seattle, Minneapolis, New York, and Reykjavik. Twenty-five percent (or more) will go to music licensing. We will raise enough to promote RADIOHEART to film and music festivals, achieve distribution, and do cost-effective marketing and advertising.

What does success look like?

Our goal is to make a moving, inspiring, riveting, entertaining documentary that tells Kevin’s story and celebrates KEXP. We’ll submit RADIOHEART to U.S. and international film festivals and will feel successful if we’re accepted by several. We’ll expand our audience by pursuing distribution from the usual and not-so-usual suspects. Our goal is for RADIOHEART to be enjoyed by at least 150,000 viewers in its first year of availability.

See more at radioheartfilm.com