One of the first contemporary Danish TV dramas weaving together eight stories of individuals, suddenly interconnected, When the Dust Settles brings together on the creative side two sets of former National Film School of Denmark alumni: 1999 screenwriting graduates and Dicte co-creators Ida Maria Rydén and Dorte W. Høgh, and 2011 graduates-producer Stinna Lassen and director Milad Alami, winners of a Special Mention at Nordic Talents 2011.

We spoke to them in London, as well as to seasoned actor Karen-Lise Mynster (Aftermath) who plays a Danish justice minister.

The 10-part series centres on eight characters of different demographic groups, on the surface unrelated to each other, all involved in different relationships - friends, partners or parents, whose lives and destinies suddenly collide in the aftermath of a terrorist attack in a Copenhagen restaurant.

We meet restaurant owner Nikolaj, Lisa, a Swedish singer about to start a new life with her Danish lover, Holger, a lonely elderly man, Elisabeth, a politician, torn between her career and private life with her wife, Marie, an eight-year old girl, filled with anxiety, homeless girl Ginger and Jamal, the suspect.

Their parallel life stories are gradually revealed before the terrorist attack - and afterwards they are left questioning their life choices. Through flash forwards and flash backs, we understand how and why their lives will change forever over the course of three weeks.

In the starring roles, next to Karen-Lise Mynster are Jacob Lohmann (Follow the Money), Peter Christoffersen (The Bridge), Malin Crepin (In Your Veins), Henning Jensen (The Rain), Viola Martinsen, Katinka Petersen, Arian Kashef. Milad Alami (The Charmer) is concept director, Jeanette Nordahl (Wildland) and Iram Haq (What People Say) are episodic directors.

The series was produced by DR Drama with co-financing from SVT, NRK, Yle, RUV, and support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond. DR Sales handles global distribution.

What was the starting point for the series?
Ida Maria Rydén: Our influence for the series was the films Sliding Doors, Short Cuts. We wanted to examine when and how people meet, what they can do to each other.

Dorte W. Høgh: Our intention was to do a multi-character series about how we affect each other and how our lives are interconnected.

Why did you choose a non-linear approach to the storytelling?
DWH: We wanted to avoid the linear structure of a disaster series, where you see the tragedy occurring at the beginning, the people involved and how they survive. For us the driving element was people’s encounters and connected lives. It was almost natural in a way to find this structure, to put the violent act in episode 5, because you need to know the characters before the tragedy actually happens.

IMR: This structure allows us to feel compassion for the characters, so when the drama actually happens in the restaurant, the viewer is immediately involved in the stories. We wanted to make people care and live with the characters.

DWH: It’s also like in everyday life. You live your life, normally, and suddenly something happens.

Does each episode focus on one particular character?
IMR: No all characters are in every episode. But some have an expanded story in a particular episode.

You obviously created an array of characters from different demographic groups, involved in different relationships…
IMR: Yes we were interested in people who had something at stake. Some are trying to get into a relationship, or out of a relationship, in or out of a family.

DWH: Again, it’s all about connections. The characters feel either disconnected or connected to someone they did not really want to be close to. All have issues with relatives. For instance, the characters that we chose to embody disconnection were either a homeless person, or a person living in an elderly home, isolated from the outside world, who wants to commit suicide. Then we have a father who wants to leave his family, a young boy who wants to escape his family, the Justice Minister who is more committed to her job than to her relationship.

Was the script ready when you started shooting?
Milad Alami: We were shooting episodes 1-2-5 when Ida Maria and Dorte were writing episodes 3 and 4. It was quite unique.

Stinna Lassen: It was very challenging because there were three processes all at once: shooting, writing and editing. Once we started shooting, the editor was already in place the following week so that when the directors had finished on set, he/she would come back and already have an assembly cut. Some days it was exhilarating because you could feel the material, other days your mind would explode. Having Milad as concept director of episode 1-2 but most importantly episode 5 was crucial as that was going to influence all other episodes.

MA: The series has actually a classical three-act structure: before the attack - the attack itself - after the attack. Episode 5 is the climax. It’s a time-log for flashforward-flashback. I wanted to control that.

Was it a great experience for you writers to capture the energy on set and go back to your computers to adapt the material?
DWH: It was great that everything was so open. But also challenging because when you have the stories of eight characters woven together, things do get f’d up. There were so many layers, and we were so many people weaving the story together. However we did know at the beginning where it would all end for everyone. We changed a bit here and there, but basically, we stuck to what was decided at the very beginning.

MA: When you have this type writing over the shooting, it’s all about trust. You have to have faith that the material will work, that the characters are believable and interesting. We had a lot of discussions with the actors as well. When I was shooting 1-2-5, I did not feel it was difficult because 3-4 were not written. I still knew where I was going.

Milad when you were first approached for the series, how did you feel about tackling a delicate subject like terrorism?
MA: For me, the series had nothing to do with terrorism. It was about people from different races, classes, sexes and how their lives are woven together. I liked the mishmash of funny moments, small things that people could recognise, and the ability to dive into people’s lives I would never have known anything about- a Justice Minister, a homeless girl… I loved all this and the ability to put together an eight-character piece.

What was the most challenging? The structure?
MA: It’s hard to say. It was not one thing. I had never done a series before. I felt very much involved in all discussions regarding the characters, the plot, episode 5 the centre piece etc. Episode 5 was the most demanding technically. We did rehearsals, which I had never done before. We rehearsed a scene that is maybe 1.5 minute long in the series, twice each week for a month! We knew that this sequence would be crucial.

Can you elaborate on your visual style?
MA: Although it’s not an action-driven series, we still tried to make it as thrilling and bold as possible, by using a subjective and immediate POV for each of the eight characters. So the camera tries to follow them and find the emotional core in each one of them. We used 360-degree shots with natural light. It was a bit maddening for the crew but it created intensity to the scenes. We also knew that wide angle shots should be used only for specific moments, not just when a person enters a room. It should mean something and have a real impact. For instance in one episode, we open up and suddenly get a glimpse of Copenhagen as a city. That had an emotional impact.

How long was the whole filming and what locations were used?
SL: We filmed for 138 days in four blocks. Milad shot two blocks, Iram 1 block and Jeanette another one. Then Milad came back for the last one. We built the entire restaurant at DR’s studios and the home of one of the main characters, then everything else was shot on location. This is rare for a DR show. Usually we spend more time in a studio because you have a better control. But for this series, we wanted to capture authenticity.

Karen-Lise Mynster what was your first reaction when you heard about the story and how would you describe your character?
KLM: I was very happy! I did casting sessions. Then I heard more about the story and started to read some episodes. I understood the setting. I was a Justice Minister, married to a woman. It was a challenge for me to be married to a woman as I had never done this before. But then I was pleased to play against Lotte Andersson. We discussed about our relationship. We wanted to be in a marriage that people would feel connected with. It was important to describe a love story. Then, when tragedy hits, my character Elisabeth suffers and loses her moral compass. She is supposed to remain cool, but continues to work. She fires people and is hopeless. She cannot read or sleep. It’s not good for the country and neither for her. It’s a very interesting part. She is portrayed as an honest, brainy politician, then it all collapses for her.

MA: Politicians that we see on television look like they’ve put on a mask. But with Karen-Lise, we never felt this. When she has a political discussion, it feels like she is in character as a real person, instead of someone trying to put on a politician suit.

How do you want viewers to react to the show?
DWH: We’d like them to reflect on how they influence people they don’t even know, how they impact other people.

KLM: It’s about the meaning of being in this world and the need to be more empathetic.