Patterned knitwear and yellow fisherman jackets appeared en masse in a chilly warehouse in east London this weekend, as 2,500 fans of the Scandinavian crime genre attended Nordicana, a two-day convention dedicated to the culture of emotionally detached detectives investigating murders among minimalist furniture and grey skies.
Amid the stalls selling Killing merchandise, smoked salmon, vodka and Swedish onesies for children, the biggest draw of the weekend were screenings of the shocking final two episodes of bleak Swedish/Danishcrime drama The Bridge, which concluded its second series on Saturday night on BBC4.
The show's co-stars Kim Bodnia and Sofia Helin, who play the lead detectives Martin Rohde and Saga Norén, fielded questions from a packed hall of fans. "No character has ever affected me in so many ways as Saga," said Helin of her character's uniquely direct style. "To have Saga on my shoulder, she helps me to think about facts in certain situations. She helps me." Bodnia, meanwhile, was full of praise for the BBC and British television: "It's amazing that you can find a place to be free and work. What you're doing out there is amazing."
There was more levity in a panel for the unlikely hit political dramaBorgen about the intricacies of Danish coalition government, which brought together actors Sidse Babett Knudsen and Pilou Asbaek - who played prime minister Birgitte Nyborg and her spin doctor Kasper Juul. . There was an implication from Knudsen, by way of an exaggerated nod, that she had been asked to run for political office in real life, and she expanded on her previous comments that Tony Blair had worked his way into her portrayal of Birgitte Nyborg during the final season. "The only thing that really inspired me about Tony Blair was that he became that character he was playing, that you could see from miles away."
Asbaek revealed that the show's producer Camilla Hammerich was forced to write his broken knee into the script after a footballing accident, and simply reused, word for word, the real-life dressing down she had given him. "Oh my god, I could have killed him!" exclaimed Hammerich. A number of viewers have interpreted this injury as a comment on the Danish healthcare system.
Danish broadcasters DR, who made Borgen and The Killing, used the convention to air the first UK screening of its big new drama The Legacy, a dense family drama about the division of an estate. The series was recently bought up by Sky Arts.
Alex Ayran, who runs the Nordic Noir DVD distribution chain and organised the event, seemed pleased at the success of Nordicana, which is the second such convention and follows a smaller debut last summer. "The interest of the British public in Scandinavian crime fiction, food, design, culture, is absolutely huge," he explains, adding that he was not surprised that the first day proved a sellout. He believes its popularity is down to the sheer quality of Scandinavian output. "The TV shows are so good, so intriguing, that it's almost otherworldly."
In addition to the screenings and celebrity panels, entry (£40 for the weekend or £25 for a single day) gave access to more niche offerings. In A Great Scandinavian Cinnamon Bun-Off, the composer of Borgen's theme tune tasted a selection of cinnamon buns, while Eat Like a Scandi revealed the secrets of Scandinavian cooking. There was also a so-called expo room in which visitors could take a break from murder plots and leaden skies to explore some of Scandinavia's happier output and Nordicana merchandise (a Keep Calm and Watch The Killing T-shirt will set you back £15). One of the stallholders, Stacey, said that in addition to The Bridge and Borgen DVDs, her most popular items were teatowels and tote bags, both of which bear the Nordicana 2014 name and a pattern akin to Sara Lund's infamous Faroe-style knit. But as Saturday reached an end, she said there had also been a big rush on fleece jackets.
"People have been complaining of the cold," she explained, which seemed rather apt.
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