This column hosts portraits of cinemas in Europe and the rest of the world which are quite different from one another but have in common the fact that they have all adopted digital projection.

Cinema Odeon

Four city gates and a cinema
by Virginia Fanin

Brunico/Bruneck, a small town in the independent province of Bolzano/Bozen in Alto Adige, is the main centre for visiting Val Pusteria, where Val Badia and the Aurina and Tures Valleys also converge.
It’s the perfect base for winter sports lovers, at the foot of the famous ski area of Plan de Corones/Kronplatz, equipped with 32 ski lifts, whilst in summer it’s a strategic departure point for many and varied excursions into the high mountains, for example towards Monte Sommo.

Brunico is a many-sided town with a broad offer of art and culture, including cinema. This means that if those who come as tourists also wish to enjoy a good film, the town can easily satisfy their desires.

The Odeon is situated in the centre, only a short walk from the Castle and the Laghetti di Brunico, around 500 metres from the Via Centrale, or main street, with its characteristic frescoes and bay windows, where most of the shops and boutiques, cafés and typical local restaurants are situated.

Because of Covid, the cinema was closed from April to June 2020 and from November 2020 to April 2021 but now the doors are open again!

The special thing about the Odeon, which is located in German-speaking Italy only a few kilometres from the Austrian border, is that the films are screened mostly in German, so as to meet the demands of the majority of the local population.

Nonetheless, this structure, marked by the diversity of its programming, which allows it to offer up to six different titles on weekends, also makes available a choice of films in Italian. These are successful popular and thematic film series, screened at peak tourist seasons.
Titles can always be checked on the website, as well as the language they are screened in.

What the offer in both languages has in common is the fact that foreign films are dubbed.
For this particular area of Italy, the Studios’ branches make available a version with German dubbing, particularly suited to children and families who represent an important percentage of the Odeon’s audience. And there is no lack of productions coming directly from Austria or Germany.

The structure, which belongs to the same company that manages the Cinema Stella in Bressanone/Brixen, has two auditoriums with their characteristic red armchair seats, also equipped for 3D screenings.

The building, which also houses a small bar offering drinks and, obviously, popcorn, is of an unmistakable bright orange colour - with a surprise: a black and white fresco depicting the most famous celebrities in the world of cinema.

Tickets cost 9 euros, whilst for children and on Wednesdays they cost 7 euros. The 3D supplement costs 2 euros.
If spectators wish, they can book tickets on the website www.odeonkino.com and pick them up at least 20 minutes before the start of the screening.
The Odeon offers whoever is interested the possibility of “bringing their business to the cinema”, taking advantage of the various advertising packages offered.

Snippets: did you know that Brunico has four town gates?

• On the Porta delle Orsoline, specially built to admit transportation of a fountain, frescoes by Johannes di Brunico are still visible.

• On the Porta San Floriano, once know as “Lucke”, a painting is to be seen depicting Saint Floriano, the town’s coat of arms and the Bishop-Prince Bruno, founder of the town.

• Porta della Rienza was the departure point for the country road to Val Pusteria.

• Porta Ragen, has been used throughout history to transport the dead to the cemetery.

Choose one and make your way to the Cinema Odeon!