IMAX Corporation and Pathé Live announced that the INDOCHINE -CENTRAL TOUR concert at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon, France performed on June 25, 2022, was shot by utilizing 22 IMAX-certified cameras —and that made this the first concert ever to be released through the Filmed for IMAX camera program.

First ‘Filmed for IMAX’ concert

As a natural pathway to leverage its business, IMAX invests tons of effort to think out of the box of their cameras. Thus, focusing on filming live events and then bringing them to its theaters, seems like a (very) good idea. The first implementation of this strategy was executed at the INDOCHINE -CENTRAL TOUR concert at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon, France. This live show featured a 147 feet high (45 meters) central tower and the specially designed biggest led screen ever used in a Live concert (27,000 sq ft / 1,400 led panels) — perfect to be screened on IMAX screens. The concert film was directed by Hans Pannecoucke, produced by KMS, Sony Music, and JYL Productions, and distributed exclusively in cinemas by Pathé Live, which specialized in bringing live events to the big screen.

Shot on 22 IMAX-Certified cameras

As stated by IMAX:  “INDOCHINE is a perfect example of how we’re creating unique and immersive entertainment events on the international stage,” said Megan Colligan, President of IMAX Entertainment. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to work with INDOCHINE during their sold-out CENTRAL TOUR, and to be able to give their legions of loyal fans an unforgettable experience.” Also, Pathé Live added: “We’re excited and proud to bring this spectacular show by the most popular and acclaimed French band to our exhibitor partners and cinema audiences. This first-ever Filmed for IMAX concert will offer fans the most immersive and incomparable experience only in movie theatres”. Unfortunately, there’s no info regarding what cameras were used to shoot this event. Nevertheless, we know that certified cameras are: ALEXA LF, MINI LF, 65, Panavision DXL2,  RED Ranger MONSTRO, and Sony VENICE. Hence, we thought that the VENICE would be the best fit for this project. Nonetheless, this hasn’t been confirmed (the VENICE on the featured image of this article is just for illustration purposes).

BTW, as a tribute to the mighty 65mm format, we’ve created the Y.M.CINEMA 65 which is a perfect gift for cinephiles — explore it on our website.

How/when to watch it?

The event cinemas release will launch exclusively in IMAX theatres across France and select markets on November 23, 2022, before screening for one evening only in non-IMAX theatres the following day. Outside of France, the exclusive event cinema release will play in Belgium, Switzerland, and other select markets, with additional details to be announced in the coming weeks. Furthermore, expect a lot more like this in the near future — watching live concerts that were filmed on IMAX, in an IMAX theater, will be an integral part of the future of the big screen.