ZAAD

An intimate, unhurried documentary that turns a family archive into a quiet reckoning with inheritance, care and the fear of what we might become.

Directed by

Dries Meddens

Genres

Documentary

Starring

Dries Meddens, Bernard Sabbe, Luna Meddens

Tagline

Zaad (Seed) is the story of a man dealing with the heredity of his father’s mental illness.

Overview

ZAAD tells the autobiographical story of Dries Meddens. After the death of his mother, the care for Dries' bipolar father falls on his plate. He discovers how crudely and ruthlessly society and psychiatry treat patients. His father eventually dies in solitary confinement. While emptying his parent’s home, Dries discovers an old letter from his grandfather. The man appears to have led a busy, productive life. He is the founder of an internationally renowned seed breeding company and still has time to paint, write diaries and conduct intensive correspondence. Dries finds similarities between his grandfather, his father and himself. Slowly the fear grows that his father's psychiatric illness might be hereditary. Strolling through the family’s film and photo archives, with dramatic and sometimes hilarious finds, Dries tries to find answers. He also consults a psychiatrist. Together the consultations and reviewing of his archival material help Dries look at bipolarity with new eyes.

How it feels

Melancholic, earnest, dark and warm. Slow-burning and needs your attention.

About

Family, memory, identity, grief

Content

Mild violence and language. No gore or sexual content.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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