One year after launching its Nordic Noir sub label dedicated to Scandinavian crime and political drama on DVD and digital media (such as the flagship series The Killing and Borgen), UK distributor Arrow Films has stepped up its game. The company is the first non-Scandinavian distributor to have pre-bought the Danish thriller The Hour of the Lynx.

The Hour of the Lynx was bought by Arrow Film's Head of Acquisitions Tom Stewart based on footage shown by production house Nimbus Film in Gothenburg Film Festival and on the fact that this is Sofie Gråbøl's first starring role after The Killing for which the Danish actress received a cult following in the UK. Co-star Søren Malling is also known in the UK for Borgen and Tobias Lindholm (co-writer with Jonas T. Bengtsson and Kragh-Jacobsen) was co-writer of The Hunt, which Arrow Films released in UK cinemas last November. 

The next big theatrical release for Arrow Films will be Susanne Bier's Love is All You Need set to open in over 100 screens on April 19. Co-stars Trine Dyrholm, Pierce Brosnan and director Susanne Bier will all come over to support Arrow's biggest cinema release ever. Next is A Hijacking that will come out on 20-25 prints in May. The Danish drama Northwest picked up in Gothenburg will follow later in the year, as well as the Swedish The Troubled Man, part of the latest Wallander series. The six new films starring Krister Henriksson will air on the BBC before going to Arrow Films' Nordic Noir DVD Label in 2014.

The Nordic Noir label will first host the Swedish Arne Dahl crime series, right after it's airing this spring on BBC Four. Other successful Nordic shows that will use the same distribution channels include The Bridge Season 2, the third and final seasons of The Killing and Borgen and Sebastian Bergman starring Rolf Lassgård.

The novelty for Arrow Films will be to find a UK broadcaster for DR's upcoming family drama The Legacy directed by Pernilla August and supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond. "This was our first all rights acquisition at the last MIPCOM. This is a new trade for us, but we're extremely confident. We believe it will be huge in 2014," says Stewart who is also planning a special theatrical screening of the series as alternate cinema content.