May 9th, 2011 @ Oslo, Norway
Fifteen-minute tram trip from the Youth Hostel I stayed, took me to the office of “Erlik Oslo.” Keeping asking “where I am?” to anybody around me, I finally got there. As soon as entering the office, I spotted Per Kristian, who coincidentally visited St. Petersburg at the same time as me.
Per Kristian began unfolding the story of the birth of Erlik Oslo. The street magazine started when a graphic designer, Vibeke found out about The Big Issue UK. Through mutual friends, Per Kristian, Stien and Vibeke got together for starting up the magazine in this beautiful city.
Stylish and loaded with high-qualified pictures--- bunch of ideas for the magazine but less money…it made them decided to write letters to their government, asking for subsidies---but no response.
The stagnant response, however, encouraged Kristian to get on a road with a video camera. Interviewing beggars and he finished a movie with lines by them, such as “This is the worst type of life. Nobody pays attention to me and maybe I am no more human beings.” This film moved the government finally and Erlik Oslo got some subsidies for the first issue which came out June 2005.
“We printed out 10,000 copies and sold out within 10 days,” he says. The legendary first issue was sold 90,000 copies in three months.
Erlic Oslo permeates in this town well and has a great relationship with the royal family too. A movie, “Vendor 329” has just come out which features a vendor Johannesen. “I’m a big fan of royal family. If king and queen come over to see this film, I feel really honored,” he said to a reporter and this remarks brought the royal family to the theater! Sounds like a fairy tale!
Kristian is planning to a homeless film festival in Oslo in September. The community Erlic Oslo started is getting be larger and larger.