Sony Music Entertainment Premium Content and Trafalgar Releasing today announced the release date for a-ha’s forthcoming film True North, the accompaniment to their new studio album of the same title (See on Amazon).
True North will be released in select cinemas worldwide on Thursday, September 15, with the album following on Friday, October 21. This film will also include a special behind-the-scenes featurette exclusive to cinemas.
The original idea for True North was for the Norwegian trio — Morten Harket, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, and Magne Furuholmen — to record their first session in the wondrous studio location just 90km above the Arctic Circle and then to film it. Eventually, the project expanded into more of a production, and they were joined by the talented Norwegian orchestra Arctic Philharmonic.
What spawned from these sessions is a magnificent album and film to match that details the band’s vision of a collective connection to the environment. “True North is a letter from a-ha, from the Arctic Circle, a poem from the far north of Norway,” says Furuholmen.
In recurring vignettes, the multidimensional True North film follows this narrative arc through actors portraying life in the North as well as documenting the band recording music over two days in Bodø, Norway.
This is a unique release from a-ha that embodies the spirit of their new songs, with long-time a-ha collaborator Stian Andersen at the helm as director: “It’s been an honorable assignment to direct the True North movie. It’s also been a great pleasure to write and create the narrative to match a-ha’s beautiful songs in this film.”
Since their worldwide breakthrough with “Take On Me” in 1985, a-ha has continued to adapt and evolve. Now, with what is both their 11th studio album and the documentation of its creation, a-ha has entered a new phase.
“First, we had the idea to record a studio session live,” says Waaktaar-Savoy. “Then, to film a studio session. That grew into more of a production with the Norwegian orchestra, the Arctic Philharmonic, whom we have collaborated with.”
a-ha’s first offering from the forthcoming album is the single “I’m In,” and the deeply affecting and inscrutable official music video is extracted from the long-form film integral to True North.
True North is the band at its most revealing, most personal, and most affecting. Never before has the spirit of a-ha been so exposed.
The film is produced by Aparent in conjunction with Sony Music Germany, Bodø2024, and Aker Horizons and distributed by Sony Music Entertainment’s Premium Content Division. The film is distributed theatrically worldwide by Trafalgar Releasing.
The film is out in select cinemas worldwide on September 15, 2022, via Trafalgar Releasing. Tickets will go on sale from August 4 via ahaTrueNorth.com. The album is out on October 21, 2022.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills to provide the latest news on streaming, movies, and TV shows. He previously created the websites ComingSoon, SuperHeroHype, and ShockTillYouDrop.