Leonard Cohen 'The Hills' by Vincent Haycock

Created for Nowness's Thanks For The Dance series honouring the work of Leonard Cohen, featuring the French actor Isaach De Bankolé.

Filmed in Texas, Haycock told Nowness (who presented the project in collaboration with Sony Music Canada and the Leonard Cohen estate): “My initial thoughts of the song was that Leonard was singing about dying but then I realized he had written this poem well before his death. The chair symbolizes a final resting place, but there is also an idea of accepting what is coming and enjoying it.

“The song is already pretty heavy and I was worried I couldn’t do it justice. So I meditated on his legacy, thought of a character that might have some of the traits Leonard told stories about and focused that energy and angst into this film.”

• Full story and other Thanks For The Dance films at Nowness