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Nordicana 2014

Nordicana - a live celebration of Scandinavian crime thriller fiction and film.

 Whether you are a fan of crime fiction, danish pastries, Scandi dramas or even Swedish meatballs, there is something for everyone at this extraordinary event.

Nordicana is held in the UK up to two or three times a year, and is hosted by NordicNoir (which is a sub-label of Arrow Films). It was held at the Truman Brewery, which was a spacious warehouse and not at all cramped - even though the event received around 3000 visitors over the two days. Nordicana 2014 lived up to all of it's expectations.
As much as we love British and American crime drama, there’s just something special about a Scandinavian series. An extra something. Perhaps it’s the culture, perhaps it’s the moody landscapes, perhaps it’s the unrelenting darkness. Perhaps it’s even the language.
- http://thekillingtimestv.wordpress.com/

Nordicana had much to offer: premieres for new TV series and films, discussion panels with writers, actors and composers, and The Great British Bake-off style 'A Great Cinnamon Bun-Off'.

Swedish Meatballs!
The itinery was spilt evenly over the two days, however when only being there for the one day, it was ashame to miss out on the other's events. Being there only on the Saturday, (which saw a lot of late visitors due to travelling down to London on the morning) there was a great atmosphere of excitement, ease and friendliness.

The first event was The Bridge 2 - Episode 9, which was introduced by the Ambassador of Denmark. Having discovered Scandinavian Drama through the political drama 'Borgen', it was interesting to see other dramas that had been made by the same companies. 'The Bridge' is a crime drama focusing around the crimes that happen around the bridge that connects Denmark and Sweden. 
There was also an interview with lead actress Sofia Helin and Kim Bodnia by broadcaster Suzi Perry. After seeing this preview of the episode, I was immediatly taken with the series.

Next was a premiere of the film Pioneer by Erik Skjoldbjaerg. It's a thriller, and is based around the oil harvesting occurences that happened in the North Sea in Norway during the 1970's. The cinematography and grading of this film was quite beautiful, and the sound was truly remarkable. Parts of the film took place under water in compression tanks, and the sound effects at these times were nerve-shreddingly real. The script was also extremely believable when it came to the relationships between the characters, and the film is definetly an-edge-of-the-chair experience.

After the film was an interview with Aksel Hennie (the lead actor) by Mark Sanger (BAFTA nominated editor of Gravity). It was interesting to hear how the lead actor in the film felt about his part, and his experience of the filming process.

The last event was 'The Legacy - Episode 1' which was a new series from DR, and the producers of The Killing and Borgen.

 Overall, this event was a brilliant day out, and I would highly recommend it to all Scandi lovers, and those who have yet to discover it.

References:

 * http://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/nordicana-february-1-2-london.html

 * http://www.culturecompass.co.uk/2014/02/04/nordicana-review-london-celebrates-scandi-tv-film-fashion-and-fiction/

 * http://www.culttvtimes.com/content/event-nordicana-2014/

 * http://nordicnoirblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/nordicana-2014-part-one/

 * http://eurodrama.wordpress.com/2014/02/06/nordicana-2014-3/

 * http://blog.swedenabroad.se/uk/2014/02/03/the-bridge-at-nordicana/

 * http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/columnists/a-look-beyond-the-fantasy-politics-of-nordic-fetishism.23316948

 * http://www.supajam.com/review/show/Nordicana-festival

 * http://nordicnoirblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/continuing-the-nordicana-2014-theme/

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