Adventurers, explorers and conquerors: the Vikings are considered the greatest heroes of the Middle Ages. Is this interpretation justified? In fact, they left a far darker and lesser-known mark on history: they were ruthless slavers, human traffickers and hostage-takers. „Victims of the Vikings“ is the first TV documentary to investigate this infamous and often horrifying aspect of the Nordic warriors.
For centuries, Viking daily life was determined by human trafficking. Hostages, serfs and slaves were forced to prop up the society of their captors, allowing the Nordic seafarers to expand their sphere of influence in Europe rapidly. The world of the Vikings could not have existed without these captives, whether they were used as bargaining chips, as workers, as servants or as soldiers. This film traces the stories of the ruthless Vikings who used their fast ships to spread terror across entire nations and capture anything they wanted: land, treasure and, above all, human beings.
Co-Produktion of Interspot Film, Abu Media, ORF, ZDF, ARTE, CT, and TG4 – funded by Fernsehfonds Austria and creative europe MEDIA
Directed by Stefan Ludwig
Written by Gernot Lercher and Stefan Ludwig
On German/Austrian TV networks: 5 January 21:05 ORF2, 16 January 20:15 Arte
Cast
Melkorka Cat Williams
Findan Rickie O ‘Neill
Viking chief Piotr Markiewicz
Viking chief’s sidekick Eric Nolan
Findan’s father Midie Corcoran
Findans master Dmitry Vinokurov
Explorer’s leader Kamil Krawczak
Jórunn Neasy Ni Chuanaigh
Höskuldr Michael J. Cloke
Old Findan Brian Comerford
Slave trader John Heathwood
Irishmen William Howard, Martin Gilligan
DOP drama Cathal Watters
Documentary camera Philipp Kaiser, Klaus Achter, Dietrich Heller, Bjarni Svanur Friðsteinsson, Greg Manahan
Sound Trevor McKenna
Gaffer Garret Baldwin, Khalid Dami
Production Design Mags Linnane, Tracey O’Reilly
Costume Georgina Diaz, Theresa Czerniak
Makeup Roisin Derrane
Hair Val Sherlock
SFX Makeup Clíona Campbell
Special effects Mike Regan
Stunt coordinators Joe Condren, Marta Jadach
Casting Mairead Campbell
Editors Anton Fielhauer, Alexander Strauß, Daniel Schimani
Music Ulrich Dallinger
Narration Eszter Hollósi
Sound design & mix Jakob Studnicka, Martin Sachsenhofer
CGI Stefan Horninger, Michael Klein – 7 Reasons, Julia Nebauer
Color grading David Hughes
Historical advisor Dave Swift
Line producer Clemens Wollein
Producers Stephan Hoenigmann, Pierce Boyce
Lead producers Produzenten Nikolaus Klingohr, Ingrid Klingohr
Commissioning editors Caroline Haidacher (ORF), Peter Allenbacher (ZDF/Arte), Winfried Laasch (ZDF)