Owner Erik Jørgensen Opened 1908 Current use Movie theater | Operator Erik Jørgensen Phone +47 75 50 34 00 | |
Address Storgata 8, 8006 Bodø, Norway Similar City Nord, Bodø Spektrum, Norwegian Aviation Museum, Kjerringøy gamle handelssted, Nordland Museum Profiles | ||
Fram Kino, the first cinema in Norway, opened in 1908. It is located in the city of Bodø, the capital of Nordland county. Until 1989, it was the only cinema in Bodø, serving as a cultural hub.
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Background
Ole J. B. Jørgensen established Fram Kino in 1908. The cinema's management has remained in the Jørgensen family for four generations, with Ole J. B. Jørgensen being succeeded by Petter Jørgensen (b. 1894), Ole Henrik Jørgensen (b. 1928) and Erik Jørgensen (b. 1958).
Ole J. B. Jørgensen
Ole J. B. Jørgensen worked as a wagon-man transporting goods, but by the early 1900s he had established himself as a businessman. In 1908, he established his first cinema at Lodge Farm. In 1911, the cinema moved to a building leased at Storgata 8. In 1916, a portion of the family farm at Søndre Hærnes was sold to pay for Storgata 8. A part of the farm was re-acquired by his son, Petter Jørgensen, in 1933.
Lodge Farm
Lodge Farm was a base for the temperance society known as Nordens Klippe (Cliff of the North), established in 1882. They held their meetings at Tordenskjoldsgate, the first God-Templar location in the Northern part of Norway. Lodge Farm was destroyed in 1940 during World War II in the bombing of Bodø.
Originally, the cinema played silent shorts, with four to five screenings at each showing. All screenings were accompanied by live piano. The original price for the cinema was 25 øre for adults, and 10 øre for children. The first films included comedies, such as Liquid Electricity (Flytende elektrisitet), Adventures of A Magician (Tryllekunstnerens eventyr), and dramas such as Samson and Dahlila (Samson og Dalilla).
Petter, the son of Ole J. B., worked as a helper at the cinema from its inception, through the move to Storgata 8, and until Ole J. B. bought the building from N. Helgensen in 1916. On December 13, 1924, Petter Jørgensen became a full partner in his father's company, and later purchased Storgata 8 from him. After Ole J. B. died on December 2, 1930, the company was acquired by Petter. Later, in 1948, Petter's son, Ole Henrik Jørgensen, began working at Fram Kino. After Petter's death in 1958, Ole Henrik acquired Storgata 8. On January 1, 1959, Ole Henrik's son Erik obtained his cinema engineer's certificate. He became the cinema chief when he was in his twenties.
Fram Kino during the Second World War
In the beginning of the war, the cinema was located in Storgata 8. This building was burned down by the Germans due to the new regulations regarding buildings of a certain height in the area below Kongens Gate. The cinema was then moved to Folkets hus (today Prinsens gate 15), where a temporary cinema was established with the new cinema equipment. This temporary cinema was later confiscated by the Germans. Jørgensen then established another cinema in a barrack in Fredensborgveien near 13. The barrack had a capacity of 430 seats, and was in use until May 11, 1951.
Enlargement of the cinema in 1989
In 1989, the cinema was developed to meet the demands of the growing population and cinema-going audience of Bodø. Three theaters were built, extending the capacity to 450 people. The cinema has remained unchanged since the construction in 1989.
Now and the future
Fram Kino currently has 11 employees. The premises of the cinema are rented and Bodø Kommune owns the building. According to the cinema manager, Erik Jørgensen, they plan to expand from three theaters to four. In 2013, Erik Jørgensen and his associate, Tone Furøyen, received the award "Cinema Manager of the Year" from the Norwegian Film Agency Association (Norske Filmbyråers Forening).
Special events
After the 2011 mass murder at Utøya, the cinema manager arranged a day with free entrance for everyone. This gave the people in Bodø a chance to think about something else besides the tragedy.
At the premier of the Norwegian film Pelle Politibil, children had a chance to meet the real police car, Pelle.
Technical installations
Fram Kino has participated in a pilot project regarding development of digital ticket systems. One of the digital ticket systems is E-Billett, which was developed and supplied by Dialog.eXe. The cinema has the following digital systems: Doremi, Christie, and Dolby. Due to the digital systems, the cinema can broadcast live shows such as concerts and sporting events.