299 Queen Street West is a 2023 Canadian documentary film, directed, produced, and edited by Sean Menard.
The film chronicles the early history of MuchMusic, a music television channel headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The voices of VJs like Rick Campanelli, Sook-Yin Lee, Nam Kiwanuka, and George Stroumboulopoulos are featured in the film. Menard said, "I wanted to recreate the experience both for viewers who grew up with it and for those who have no clue what MuchMusic was. I wanted them to be immersed in that channel and the best way to do that is to live in the space and the world of the archives and not cut back and forth to on-camera interviews."[1]
Release
The film premiered at the South by Southwest film festival in March 2023.[2][3] It later premiered at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto in September 2023.[3][4]
It was scheduled to premiere on January 26, 2024 on Crave, owned by Much's current parent company Bell Media.[5] However, its release was indefinitely delayed due to copyright issues involving the music video clips seen in the film.[6][7]
Tour
The film toured across Canada in the following cities:
September 22, Toronto, ON - Roy Thomson Hall
October 17, Montréal, QC - Railto Theatre
October 18, Saint John, NB - Imperial Theatre
October 24, Charlottetown, PE - Sobey Family Theatre
October 25, Halifax, NS - Rebecca Cohn Auditorium
October 28, Ottawa, ON - Bytowne Cinema
November 1, Calgary, AB - Jack Singer Concert Hall
November 4, Hamilton, ON - FirstOntario Concert Hall
November 5, Windsor, ON - Chrysler Theatre
November 8, Edmonton, AB - Winspear Centre
November 13, Regina, SK - Conexus Arts Centre
November 24, Vancouver, BC - Vancouver Playhouse
November 25, Victoria, BC - Royal Theatre
November 27, Winnipeg, MB - Centennial Concert Hall
References
- ^ "MuchMusic Documentary '299 Queen Street West' Traces How a Renegade Canadian Channel Took on MTV and Won (For a While)". Variety. March 13, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ "How the director of the new MuchMusic documentary found gold in a treasure trove of archives". CBC.ca. March 16, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ a b "MuchMusic Documentary '299 Queen Street West' Sets Toronto Premiere". Exclaim!. April 24, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ "'Spirit of MuchMusic' still alive at doc premiere with former VJs in attendance". Global News. September 23, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ "New on Crave: January 2024". MobileSyrup. December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ "MuchMusic Documentary '299 Queen West' Faces Legal Challenge From Universal Music Canada". Billboard Canada. October 19, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ "MuchMusic doc pulled from Crave months after director says he clashed with labels". CBC.ca. January 29, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2024.