Ritið : tímarit Hugvísindastofnunar - 01.05.2019, Page 69

GuNNAR TómAS KRiSTóFERSSoN
68
A B S T R A C T
When cinema came to Iceland
The article addresses the early years of film in iceland, where the goal is to deepen
our knowledge of the main participants in introducing and promoting cinema in
iceland at the turn of the 19th century. Two years spanning a three-year period mark
the beginnings of the age of film in iceland. The former is 1901 when the Dutch
filmmaker F. A. Nöggerath came to film iceland and icelanders for an English film
company. The latter year is 1903, when the Norwegian, Rasmus Hallseth and the
Swede David Fernander, traveled around the country to screen films for the first
time in iceland. These two visits mark the emergence of cinema in iceland. iceland-
ers had little prior knowledge of the new medium, which was getting to be widely
known around the world, apart from the coverage of newspapers and stories of lucky
icelanders who had experienced film screenings abroad. Shows using a predecessor
of film, the magic lantern, were held by Sigfús Eymundsson and Þorlákur ó. Jo-
hnson in the 19th century. After the introduction of films in 1903, several people put
together funds to buy Hallseth’s and Fernanders’ equipment and began to exhibit
films on their own. However, daily performances did not happen until Reykjavik
Biograftheater (later ,,Gamla Bíó”) was established in 1906. After several attempts
by various parties to hold regular screenings in Reykjavik, one could say that cinema
did not properly settle in iceland until the establishment of Nýja Bíó in 1913.

Keywords: Early cinema, icelandic cinema, film history, film studies, magic lantern

Gunnar Tómas Kristófersson
Doktorsnemi í almennri bókmenntafræði
Íslensku- og menningardeild
Hugvísindasviði Háskóla Íslands
Sæmundargötu 2
iS-101 Reykjavík, Ísland
gtk@hi.is