Imaginaerum by Nightwish

IMAGINAERUM, a film that looks like a world-famous rock band, dives deep into fantasy. World premiere and concert at Hartwall Arena on Saturday 10 November 2012. In cinemas on 23 November 2012.

Nightwish's highly anticipated Imaginaerum film gets a flying start on Saturday 10 November at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki. Audience will be able to experience both the band's concert and the film's world premiere on the same night.

Imaginaerum will premiere at Hartwall Arena on 10 November. Before the film's world premiere, Nightwish will perform, for the last time on Finnish soil this year.

The day before the film's premiere, on Friday 9 November, the official soundtrack for the film Imaginaerum by Nightwish – The Score, will be released. The album features 13 new tracks, which are Petri Alanko's stunning reinterpretations of songs from the Imaginaerum album. Imaginaerum will be released in cinemas nationwide on 23 November.

The event is produced by Solar Films Inc. and Eastway Sound & Lighting Oy.

A story about the power of imagination

The globally anticipated Imaginaerum by Nightwish is a musical fantasy that evokes the worlds of David Lynch, Neil Gaiman and Cirque du Soleil. The film is an innovative combination of story and music, an unconventional story about the power of imagination and what really matters in life. Imaginaerum, composed Nightwish was produced in conjunction with the album of the same name.

The band has sold over 7 million albums worldwide and has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum records, making them the most successful Finnish rock band of all time.

Tuomas Holopainen's thoughts on film and its music

"My first thoughts about a possible Nightwish album & film project date back to the summer of 2007, when, in the hangover of completing Dark Passion Play, I wondered about ways to take the band's already hugely ambitious and sprawling expression to the next level. Five years have passed since that moment of realisation and one wild dream will be fulfilled when the film Imaginaerum premieres at Hartwall Arena on Saturday 10 November 2012. The band themselves will open the premiere of the film, for the last time in Finland this year.

The day before, on Friday 9 November, the official soundtrack of the film will be released: Imaginaerum by Nightwish – The Score. The album features 13 never-before-heard songs, which are Petri Alanko's stunning reinterpretations of songs from the Imaginaerum album.

Imaginaerum is precisely the fulfilment of one sincere vision and wish. It is not at any level a pre-calculated or self-serving project. The film was not made to promote the band or the album, it was made because we wanted to tell a story. A lovingly and meticulously crafted story about the power of imagination, about life and what ultimately matters most in it.

Completing the film has been an eventful if unexpectedly challenging journey. It has required years of dedication and an inhuman amount of perseverance and work of many people. To all of them, my sincere thanks at this stage, together we have created something innovative, different and timeless. Imaginaerum is an ambitious, idiosyncratic and unconventional triptych that looks very much like the band."

Kitee, 23 August 2012
Tuomas Holopainen
Nightwish

Stobe Harju – Imaginaerum by Nightwish, a director's perspective on the film

"Imaginaerum is not just a Nightwish album or film. When you watch it, you have to understand what is most important to us. Sometimes the most important things are forgotten because they seem small or insignificant from the outside. But they are what we breathe with every day and without them there is no life. When the audience walks out of the theatre as part of a great adventure, those little things will hopefully be appreciated.

Although Imaginaerum is an international film and its message is universal, it is above all Finnish. Although at its core is, at its simplest, a conflict between an old man and his daughter, Imaginaerum explores other broader issues. When we are older, what is the thing that takes us away from reality and what or whom does that thing personify in our lives? What are the things that we may have forgotten in our everyday lives that we remember at the moment of loss?

It was on this basis and with this dream that two people set out more than four and a half years ago. The aim was to give viewers and listeners an experience in which the imagination of a person, child or adult, was turned into a fantasy adventure. Imaginaerum is a place where the music is loud, where every moment of action is huge and where adults become children again, if only for a moment. It's a staggering magic trick that can't be explained.

Many people with huge hearts have worked on the film. Actors, effects artists, producers, sound designers, musicians, builders, designers, etc. The list is endless. In most cases, the workload has stretched to around-the-clock, not because of a desire for fame and glory, but because most of them have taken the story very personally and also fulfilled their own dream at the same time. These are the people who wanted to see the film in line with its original vision. The gratitude that goes out to them is endless.

Imaginaerum is not necessarily a music film, although it is heavily based on Nightwish's latest album. Every song is in the film, and in exactly the same order as on the album. What's more, many will be surprised by the small size of the wideness of the final product. Nightwish music is hard to bring on the big screen unless you have tens of millions in your back pocket. That's why the end result can be considered a miracle, no matter who says what.

Today, as I write this, is the penultimate day of Imaginaerum's production in Montreal. Tomorrow, four years of working towards a dream will finally come to an end. We hope you can all join us in Imaginaerum in November.

Montreal, 23 August 2012
Stobe Harju
director

ROLES INCLUDE:
MARIANNE FARLEY
FRANCIS X. McCARTHY
QUINN LORD
TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN
ILKKA VILLI
JOANNA NOYES
KEYANNA FIELDING
STÉPHANE DEMERS
RON LEA
HÉLÉNE ROBITAILLE
GLENDA BRAGANZA
MADISON McALEE
VICTORIA ANN YOUNG
ANETTE OLZON
MARCO HIETALA
JUKKA NEVALAINEN
EMPPU VUORINEN