13 Juil Little Axel

Documentary, 53 min.
A film by Fabien Greenberg & Bård Kjøge Rønning with support from NFI, Viken Filmsenter, NRK, Kulturrådet, VGTV, Nordic/Docs and Bergesenstiftelsen.

Axel Joachim Jensen was born in January 1960 in Oslo, Norway, being conceived nine months earlier aboard a sailing boat on the Aagean sea. His father, the infamous Norwegian writer Axel Jensen, left his mother Marianne for another woman during the spring of 1960. Briefly after, a new father figure enters into Little Axel´s life.

This man is Leonard Cohen.

Little Axel grows up with Leonard and Marianne – on the island of Hydra in Greece, in Oslo, in Montreal, in New York. Still after Leonard leaves his mother Marianne they still have contact, and Axel goes often to see, and to live with Leonard. At the age of 20, Axel enters a long life in psychiatric institutions in Norway. He carries deep and fond memories of his stepfather, the man who would enchant a whole world with poetry, wisdom and song. This is Axel´s own story, as we meet him today. “Little Axel” is a unique tale of artistry, family and love, told through exclusive archive material and Axel´s own words.