BEHIND THE SCENES with Kari Hesthamar


Is there a distinct sound or tradition related to Norwegian radio

In the European "feature family" we're known for making quite intimate documentaries, with close microphones going deep into the main character's life. The past few years we've also been working a lot with scenes and situations, so I would say that most of our pieces are a mixture of the interview and scenes captured from the reporter being a fly on the wall. We also experiment quite a lot with the narration, and nearly always use our own voice, as opposed to, for instance Germany, where they often use actors or other professionals to read the narration. I've written the narrator in first, second and third person, made inner monologues, etc. Radio presents a great opportunity to play with these things and to create different levels of understanding and development between characters and the narrator

What sort of stories are you most drawn to as a radiomaker

I wanted to be a social worker, but quit after one year finding out this was not for me. But I think I still deal a lot with social and psychological issues as a journalist, an I'm still drawn to the things that made me want to become a social worker some years ago. Lately I've done quite a few portraits, including one about Norwegian poet Kolbein Falkeid, one about a community of old Norwegian sailors living in Antwerp, and one about an elderly couple who are growing older out of rhythm with each other

What prompted you to make a feature about Leonard Cohen? Is it something you'd been thinking about for a long time

I've always been fascinated by both the man and his lyrics, but never really thought about making a portrait of him until I came up with the idea to make a feature about his old time Norwegian sweetheart Marianne ("So Long, Marianne"). When she accepted the invitation to meet me, after having turned down requests for many years, I thought "I must at least try to see if I can get an interview with Leonard Cohen as well," thinking there could be either one or two programs from the interviews. So I sent him an e-mail and he answered me the day after

Though there aren't very many actual facts about his life or the history of Cohen's career, the feature still manages to convey so much information about him. Which are the most revealing bits of tape that truly let a listener get to know him as a human being

I think maybe it's everything that is "in between" and also the way that the music is used. He is very verbal, and when he speaks it's with some of the same quality as you find in his lyrics; it's just very well put. But I think what maybe works the best is the fact that we're in his house, we can hear the dogs barking in the garden, he pours me wine with Marianne's old corkscrew, he puts his feet on the table, there's the Friday night party with family and some close friends where they play guitar and sing: we feel that we're in his home, close to him, and that it's not just an interview that could have been done in a studio or in the radio station. He becomes an ordinary man, not just a star. And I've tried to make the music and the spoken parts reflect on each other

I hope that the listeners feel that they've been let into his home and his thoughts for a moment, and that they feel they've heard Cohen as an ordinary man, not just the big star up on the stage. He was a very humble and silent man, as I saw him. We spent a lot of time together saying nothing

Were you nervous about playing the tape of your interview with Marianne, where she's singing along to Cohen's recordings, for him? How did it feel to watch him listen in that moment

Sure I was nervous, because if he hated it, it wouldn't increase my chances of getting good things on tape. I had an appointment for Thursday at 11 AM, but didn't know whether I would get one or two hours, if he would let me come back the next day etc. Finally I spent more or less three days with him. I played the Marianne piece for him the first day, and it looked as if he enjoyed listening to it. But it felt strange: Here I am in Leonard Cohen's living room playing a Norwegian documentary about his old sweetheart while Cohen is reading an English transcript, listening to how I cut in his music

You also made a separate feature, all about Marianne. Can you talk a little bit about that? How were the two experiences different? How were they similar

I knew that the "So Long, Marianne" song was written to a Norwegian woman, and just started to wonder who is she, what's her story, where is she today, etc. I had this idea in my head for more or less a year, then I looked her up in the phonebook and called her. We had a nice talk. She had been asked to tell her story many, many times, but always refused. At his point she was 70 years old, and for different reasons she felt like telling the story. Then I sent her some of my work, she liked it and said yes. She is a wonderful woman, and both Marianne and Leonard were most hospitable and friendly to me. She has a very good memory, while Leonard doesn't recall much in the same sense. He summons up the past and reflects on things while she remembered "everything": details, colors, and smells, and what happened in specific situations. They really gave different things. At the same time both of them are the kind of people that you want to be with and that make you feel good

Cohen admits that he rarely gives interviews these days. Why did he talk to you

I'm not sure, but radio is easier than television. Second I'm Norwegian and he has a special connection with Norway -- all his records go number one in Norway. Canadians and Norwegians are often a bit on the same wavelength, we feel familiar to each other. He said that he liked my e-mail, where I also wrote that I was working with Marianne. So I don't know, many small reasons perhaps.