Cruising In The Van Productions announced today that their awardwinning documentary feature Life on the V: The Story of V66 will receive domestic distribution on DVD and home entertainment from MVD Entertainment Group.

Newbury Comics will have an advance exclusive on the DVD available starting on March 24th. The DVD will be released wide on Tuesday April 7th with digital distribution platforms following shortly thereafter.

Life on the V: The Story of V66 tells the story of V66, the hugely popular music video channel that was broadcast throughout the Boston area during the height of the music video craze in 1985-86, only to disappear from the airwaves after 18 months. Nearly 30 years later, the fans remain and memories of this channel have formed an important place in 80s nostalgia. The documentary focuses on this music outlet that came out at a time when cable penetration was minimal in New England and when MTV was scarcely available. Told from the perspective of radio legends and channel co-founders, John Garabedian and Arnie “Woo Woo” Ginsberg, as well as a who’s who in the Boston 80s music scene, the film provides a comprehensive behind-the-scenes view of what it was like to be a part of the magic happening at this station that still brings back a flood of enthusiastic emotion for those fans who were glued to their TVs years ago.

The documentary team tracked down and interviewed over 30 former V66 employees (executives, VJs, technical crew, interns, marketers, stylists, and editors), over 30 musicians who were either on V66 or influenced by V66 (including members of The Cars, The J. Geils Band, New Edition, ‘Til Tuesday, Extreme, The Del Fuegos, Puddle of Mudd, The Lemonheads, Dropkick Murphys, and Morphine), and over 15 fans. Interviews were filmed in people’s homes, workplaces, rehearsal spaces and music venues.

Life on the V: The Story of V66 made its World Premiere in April 2014 at the Independent Film Festival Boston, the highest attended film festival in New England. Over three hundred fans lined up multiple blocks to see the premiere and stick around for a lively Q&A featuring the filmmakers and former V66 employees. Later in 2014, it screened at Independent Television and Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Documentary. It also screened at Somewhat North Of Boston Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Rock Doc (Music Related Documentary). At the end of 2014, film critic Andrew Osborne (Double Toasted) named Life on the V his #10 Best Movie of 2014.

“MVD has released so many great documentaries, including many well-received music docs” says Life on the V director Eric Green. “After already receiving such a positive response from audiences at film festivals, I’m thrilled that the story of V66 that I’m telling through my documentary can be shared with even more fans throughout the country, and with those who are nostalgic for the 80s music scene, through film distribution by MVD.”

"I believe every city across the USA has a similar story: a show emerges that is truly cutting edge, different and happening” says MVD General Manager Ed Seaman. “Life on the V transcends its regional appeal as everyone can relate to this theme, and we are thrilled to be representing this poignant documentary".

The film began in August 2007, when the filmmakers met with V66 founder John Garabedian to propose a documentary film about V66. Mr. Garabedian was incredibly supportive of the proposal that the producers, who grew up as fans of the music video channel when they were children, were so passionate about.

Through social media, fans from all over began following, tweeting, and spreading the word about the V66 documentary. For a film that wasn’t even finished or released yet, the documentary amassed a huge following on with over 5,000 fans on social media. They created trailers to generate interest, and boy, did it: the videos were viewed over 33,000 times.