I’m back from Denmark. Great trip, great festival, and more on that later. My last day, Saturday, ended with a crazy experience. After the award ceremony (where Anders Østergaard’s Burma VJ was the big winner), a few of us decided to skip the closing night film and explore Christiania. Christiania is apparently a must-attend spot in Copenhagen. It’s a more-or-less self-governed neighborhood of about 1,000 residents. The area is comprised of kebab carts, concert clubs, arts-and-crafts booths, and hash stands. And, yes, it’s pretty much a hippie heaven. I can’t say it’s the kind of place where I would normally spend tons of time, but it’s worth a visit.
Reportedly, the country has been supportive of Christiania since its formation in the (you guessed it) early 1970s, until a few years ago when police raids started becoming the norm. No raids our night, but one cool surprise. I was finishing a great kebab, and heading back to rejoin the gang at the Jazz Klub (where a guy was having his way with some Spanish guitar). As I’m walking over, I hear what sounds like Tricky’s “Black Steel” booming from a bigger club down a dirt road. I started wandering over, and realized that it was a Tricky performance happening right there, in Christiania. I’m a big Tricky fan, and think his newest record is a comeback, so I was stoked and immediately spent the next hour watching a “surprise” Tricky concert in a very unusual location.
Following that, we headed back to the festival’s closing night party, where Patti Smith was wrapping up a quick show. Then, there was a Depeche Mode dance party. After that, however, the night pretty much escapes me until I wind up on a plane, sleeping soundly on my way back to New York.
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
