miscellaneous-news
Number 2 on the list is Joulutarina (Christmas Story) directed by Juha Wuolijoki,
which premiered on the 16th of November and may well end up being the
most popular Finnish film of 2007. Last weekend it again topped the box
office list with 20,826 viewers. So far (17.12) it has drawn a total of
172,254 people to Finnish cinemas.
V2: Dead Angel (V2: Jäätynyt enkeli) | trailer (with English subtitles)
Christmas Story (Joulutarina) | trailer (with English subtitles)
The fire started at another wing of congress centre Jyväskylä Paviljonki, where the gig took place. Because of heavy smoke development and the possibility of the fire spreading, the Nightwish fans were told to leave the hall and wait outside the building.
After about half an hour Nightwish were allowed to continue playing, when the fire department had begun extinguishing the fire and the risk of the fire spreading to the concert hall had been ruled out.
Not all fans were immediately aware of the resumption of the gig. Some had reportedly even gone home. The smoke machine used by Nightwish during the performance is also said to have caused some confusion.
The fire broke out when a shield covering a wall during construction works had been blown against a lamp by the wind and caught fire. The flames then spread to the roof of the building.
Related:
Nightwish Nummer Eins in Germany
Top metal musicians form new band
Nightwish album leaked
Nightwish announce first tour with Anette
Review: Nightwish – Dark Passion Play
Interview: Tarja strikes back
Nightwish: Official site | MySpace
The painting was auctioned at auction house Bukowski. The final bid was twice as high as the starting price.
The work, painted by Bogolyubov in 1870, was sold to a Russian bidder.
Less than two weeks ago another auction house in Helsinki, Hagelstam, also did good business, when a painting by Finnish realist painter Eero Järnefelt (1863-1937) changed owners for 630,000 euros.
Related:
Near-record price for Finnish masterpiece at auction
Photo of the auctioned painting by A.P. Bogolyubov
Biography of Bogolyubov and more of his work – ArtFact.com
Auction house Bukowskis (Helsinki)
Tickets costing between 109 and 199 euros will go on sale next Monday (17.12) at 9 a.m. via Lippupalvelu.
Céline Dion has sold over 180 million records worldwide, of which some 500,000 in Finland (not counting the soundtrack album of Titanic). Her upcoming Taking Chances world tour (named after her recently released new album) will be her first tour in nine years. During the past five years Dion starred in her own hugely successful show A New Day at the Caesars Palace Colosseum in Las Vegas.
The Taking Chances world tour 2008-2009 will start in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 14th of February and will span five continents, 25 countries and over 100 cities.
Carlos Santana
Also Carlos Santana has been contracted to play in Finland next summer. The legendary guitarist will take the stage at the Kirjurinluoto Arena in Pori on the 18th of July as part of Pori Jazz 2008.
Mexican-born Santana has sold over 100 million albums and won 14 Grammy Awards. He has performed in Finland several times. He also played at Pori Jazz before, nearly 20 years ago, in 1988.
Ticket sales for the concert in July will also already start next Monday (17.12) at 9 a.m. Tickets cost 66 euros, but can be purchased at a reduced price of 60 euros before the 31st of December. Most other performers at the 43rd edition of Pori Jazz will be announced in March.
Céline Dion – official site
Carlos Santana – official website
The special limited edition of Venus Doom consists of a 60-page book with a leather look embossed cover, containing personal drawings, photos and journal entries by HIM frontman Ville Valo, the full-length CD and a bonus-CD with 3 tracks in parchment envelopes, plus polaroid photos. Responsible for the design were art director Matt Taylor and Valo.
Last year, Taylor won the Grammy in the same category for the Red Hot Chili Peppers album Stadium Arcadium.
The winners of this year´s awards will be announced on the 10th of February, 2008 during the live televised 50th Grammy Awards ceremony at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Related:
HIM sets Finnish record in the U.S.
Venus Doom – HIM – review
The 3 editions of Venus Doom – Heartagram.com
HIM: Official website | MySpace
Tali-Ihantala 1944 is based on the Battle of Tali-Ihantala
during the Continuation War (1941-1944) against the Soviet Union, which
ended in a decisive victory for Finland.
The film was directed by Åke Lindman and Sakari Kirjavainen and written by Stefan Forss, Benedict Zilliacus and Esko Salervo.
Tali-Ihantala 1944 is now also playing at cinemas across Finland.
Tali-Ihantala 1944 film website with trailer (in Finnish)
Tali-Ihantala 1944 – Wikipedia
The colourful light show, offered by the City of Helsinki as
part of the independence celebrations, started a little after 6 p.m.
and lasted six minutes.
Video of the fireworks – Helsingin Sanomat
The
runners-up in the vote were: 2. rakkaus (love), 3. rakas (dear) and 4. kiitos (thank you).
Agricola, the clergy man who
translated the New Testament into Finnish and became the de facto
founder of written Finnish, died 450 years ago this year.
Special film screenings of new war film
{sidebar id=33}On the Eve of Independence Day (5.12.2007), war veterans and invited high school students in 40 places all around Finland attended special first screenings of the new Finnish war film Tali-Ihantala 1944. President Tarja Halonen and her husband Pentti Arajärvi joined the invited veterans at Helsinki’s Tennispalatsi cinema. Tali-Ihantala 1944 is based on the Battle of Tali-Ihantala during the Continuation War (1941-1944) against the Soviet Union, which ended in a decisive victory for Finland. The film was directed by Åke Lindman and Sakari Kirjavainen and written by Stefan Forss, Benedict Zilliacus and Esko Salervo. The official cinema premiere is on December 7th.
> Tali-Ihantala 1944 film website with trailer (in Finnish)
> Tali-Ihantala 1944 – Wikipedia
Firework celebrations in Helsinki
Also on Wednesday night, thousands of people watched a special fireworks display above Töölö Bay in the centre of Helsinki. The colourful light show, offered by the City of Helsinki as part of the independence celebrations, started a little after 6 p.m. and lasted 6 minutes.
> Video of the fireworks – Helsingin Sanomat
The most beautiful Finnish word
The Finnish language played an essential role in the struggle for Finnish independence. On Wednesday morning YLE television announced that the word äiti (mother) had been voted the most beautiful word in the Finnish language. The word was chosen by 367 of the nearly 4000 people who participated in a vote organized as part of the Mikael Agricola Jubilee Year. Agricola, the clergy man who translated the New Testament into Finnish and became the de facto founder of written Finnish, died 450 years ago this year. The runners-up in the vote were: 2. rakkaus (love), 3. rakas (dear) and 4. kiitos (thank you)
Independence Day events
Some of the many free Independence Day events taking place in the capital region today:
Free entrance to Ateneum
The exhibition of the permanent collections of the Ateneum Art Museum has been changed and moved to the third floor. Free entrance.
11:00 – 17:00 – Ateneum, Helsinki
Multicultural Independence Day Celebration
An alternative Independence Day programme in Tikkurila, Vantaa. On offer multicultural delicacies , music by a.o. Lois de Medeiros, Archibong Eyo and Aladin Abbas, Indian and Russian dance, hip-hop dance and much more. Also veterans and many multicultural organizations will take part in the event. Free admission
13:30 – 16:30 – Aikuisopisto, Lummetie 5, Vantaa
Independence Day Concert, Espoo
A large concert for the whole family, organized by the city of Espoo, with among others former Nightwish vocalist Tarja Turunen, Samuli Edelmann, the Tapiola Sinfonietta and the Espoo War Veterans' Choir. All seats for the free concert at the LänsiAuto Arena have unfortunately been booked. Luckily there's a live tv broadcast on Finnish public TV.
15:45 – 16:40 – YLE TV2
Students' Torch Procession
The annual Independence Day torch-lit procession by students, starting from the Hietaniemi Cemetary chapel (Hietaniemenkatu 20) at 16:45 and ending at Senate Square at 17:45. At the Senate Square Mayor Jussi Pajunen of Helsinki will give his Independence Day speech and there will be performances by student choirs.
From 16:45 (Hietaniemi) until after 17:45 (Senate Square), Helsinki
Kallio's Independence Day reception @ Kuudes linja
An Independence Day celebration for the bold and the beautiful, with nice music thrown in. With DJs Vilunki 3000 and Tixa. Free admission, and a free drink before midnight.
21:00 – 03:00 – Kuudes linja, Hämeentie 13 (entrance via inner yard, Kaikukatu 4), Helsinki
Independence Anniversary Year – 90 Years of independent Finland – Virtual Finland
Hannu Väisänen, who was born in Oulu, currently lives in France. Besides as an author, he works as a graphic artist and colourist painter. In November Väisänen was also awarded the State Prize for art (Taiteen valtionpalkinto) worth 15,000 euros.
Finlandia Junior
Last Thursday (29.11) the Finlandia Junior award for children's and youth literature was presented to Aino Havukainen (38) and Sami Toivonen (36) for their illustrated book Tatun ja Patun Suomi (literally 'Tatu's and Patu's Finland'). The book tells about the brothers Tatu and Patu from Outola (a place for strangers), where everything is different than in Finland. Together they discover what kind of country Finland is. The book has also been translated in Swedish (Det här är Finland) and English (This is Finland).
Related:
Shortlist for this year's Finlandia Prize announced
Nominations for Finlandia Junior award announced
New Finlandia prize for comics
Interview with Hannu Väisänen – Books from Finland
Extract from Toiset Kengät ('The Other Shoes') in English – Books from Finland
Art by Hannu Väisänen – Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
Christmas Calendar with a.o. excerpts from Tatu and Patu – This is Finland – Kidzone Finland
Finlandia Prize – Wikipedia
Only two works by artist Helene Schjerfbeck (1862 – 1946) have fetched higher bids at auctions in Finland.
Järnefelt, one of Finland’s most prominent painters, painted Pyykkiranta in 1889 in the town of Keuruu. It depicts washerwomen by a lakeside. [photo]
The work was bought on Saturday by businessman and art collector Anders Wiklöf. It will be part of the extensive art collection at his summer residence Andersudde, south of Mariehamn, the capital of Finland's autonomous island region of Åland.
Wiklöf’s art collection, which contains some of the best Finnish and Swedish art from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, is currently on display at the Amos Andersson Art Museum in Helsinki.
Photo of Pyykkiranta by Eero Järnefelt (Hagelstam)
Eero Järnefelt – Wikipedia
Artworks by Eero Järnefelt – Finnish National Gallery
Hagelstam Fine Art Auctioneers
Helene Schjerfbeck, a modernist observer of life – Virtual Finland
Artworks by Helene Schjerfbeck – Finnish National Gallery
Bruce Springsteen has only been in Finland once before. In 2003 he played two sold out gigs at the same stadium in the capital in front of a record combined audience of 89,856, breaking the Finnish record of 87,000 set by Michael Jackson in 1997.
Bruce Springsteen is only one of the international mega stars that have recently been confirmed to play in Finland next year. Other recently announced big names include Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, Kylie Minogue, the Smashing Pumpkins and Angie Stone.
Also popular Swedish rock band Kent will return to Finland, this time for a mini-tour of four gigs. After their sold-out concert at Kulttuuritalo in Helsinki last September, the group will now only perform outside the Finnish capital region at the end of January and the beginning of February: in Lahti (30.1), Tampere (31.1), Vaasa (1.2) and Oulu (2.2). Warming up for Kent will be Swedish electro band Familjen.
For more details on these and other concerts by foreign artists in Finland, check FREE!’s Coming to Finland list >>
Related:
Album review: Magic – Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen: official site | MySpace
Kent: official site | MySpace
Familjen: official site | MySpace
The rest of the extra funds for the film industry will go to, among other things, the digitalization of small countryside cinemas and films for children.
In the previous proposal there was no extra money allocated to support domestically produced films, despite earlier suggestions by Wallin.
The over 10 million euros extra to directly benefit cultural, youth work and sports activities were freed up from the National Lottery profits. In the earlier proposal much of that money was reserved to partly cover rental expenses, paying off loans of cultural bodies and renovations (including the renovation of the National Theatre).
Funds to cover those real estate expenses will now have to be found elsewhere.
The Parliament will likely vote on the proposal on Friday.
Related:
Finnish film producers in protest: no new films