Documentary
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.
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
Whitney: Can I Be Me
Was uns bindet
(M)Other
Housing
2 or 3 Things I Know About Him
The Bridge
Animals in Love
A Bipolar Expedition
We Were There to Be There
In Our Mothers' Gardens
The Story of the Weeping Camel
The Shaolin Kid: A Boy In China
I'll Never Forget the Last Time
Sparni
Drunk on Too Much Life
The Eternal Memory
A Vida é da Cor que Pintamos
Dolphin Reef
Into Light
Fear
SIMILAR MOVIES
Whitney: Can I Be Me
IMDB 6.5 | Apr , 2017
The life and tragic death of Whitney Houston.Was uns bindet
IMDB 8 | Mar , 2017
(M)Other
IMDB 10 | Nov , 2019
Being mother is the most natural thing in the world. Or so it seems. Yet the demands on women with children have rarely been as overloaded and contradictory as they are in today’s Western world. Promises of happiness are often followed by disadvantages, excessive demands and feelings of guilt. The mother has become an artificially glorified ideal, which nevertheless is often legitimized by the „nature of the woman“. We live in a time when three people could claim to be the same child’s mother: egg donors give their genes to beget children, surrogate mothers deliver babies which they give away immediately after birth, and men raise children by themselves – without a woman at their side. Hence the question arises: What makes a human being a real mother?Housing
IMDB 0 | Jul , 2020
Mr. Lin is a happily retired man who spends his time keeping company with his toddling grandson, walking his dog, and playing golf with his in-laws. Recently, he has been obsessed with houses with river views. In Lin's city of demolitions and reconstructions, money-making investors buy and sell houses at unaffordable prices. Above the skyline of Taipei, will the boundaries between daydreams and reality ever blur?2 or 3 Things I Know About Him
IMDB 6.6 | Apr , 2005
What would your family reminiscences about dad sound like if he had been an early supporter of Hitler’s, a leader of the notorious SA and the Third Reich’s minister in charge of Slovakia, including its Final Solution? Executed as a war criminal in 1947, Hanns Ludin left behind a grieving widow and six young children, the youngest of whom became a filmmaker. It's a fascinating, maddening, sometimes even humorous look at what the director calls "a typical German story." (Film Forum)The Bridge
IMDB 6.8 | Oct , 2006
The Bridge is a controversial documentary that shows people jumping to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.Animals in Love
IMDB 6.6 | Dec , 2007
Translated literally as "Animals in Love," the French-language documentary Animaux Amoreux depicts various species of the animal kingdom in courting, mating and reproduction activities. Laurent Charbonnier directs.A Bipolar Expedition
IMDB 8 | May , 2010
Midland's businessman Paul Downes hires a castle in Jamaica and invites 12 young Ukrainian women to join him in the hope one will marry him. Paul suffers bi-polar disorder and has a manic episode - his plans turn bizarre and troubling.We Were There to Be There
IMDB 0 | Apr , 2021
On June 13, 1978, the punk bands the Cramps and the Mutants played a free show for psychiatric patients at the Napa State Hospital in California. We Were There to Be There chronicles the people, politics, and cultural currents that led to the show and its live recording.In Our Mothers' Gardens
IMDB 0 | May , 2021
In Our Mothers' Gardens celebrates the strength and resiliency of Black women and Black families through the complex, and often times humorous, relationship between mothers and daughters.The Story of the Weeping Camel
IMDB 7.1 | Jun , 2003
When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.The Shaolin Kid: A Boy In China
IMDB 10 | Nov , 2025
The story of a six year old boy from Phoenix, Arizona whose dreams of becoming a Kungfu master lead him to the birthplace of martial arts - the legendary Shaolin Temple in China. His father must now face a heartbreaking decision and follow his son to China leaving the mother behind in America... a choice few parents could ever imagine.I'll Never Forget the Last Time
IMDB 0 | Oct , 2017
A movie that portrays a reflection about sense of being self, to love and to be loved.Sparni
IMDB 10 | Dec , 2023
It’s the second semester of junior year for Pierce “Sparni” Sparnroft, a gifted jazz vibraphonist studying at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Sparni’s prospects on the vibes were rejuvenated by their new professor, the world-renowned Steve Nelson, and are to be showcased during a student-driven recital in May 2023. But all the while, Sparni must face a crisis within.Drunk on Too Much Life
IMDB 10 | Nov , 2021
The filmmakers' 21-year-old daughter journeys from locked-down psych wards and diagnostic labels toward expansive worlds of creativity, connection, and greater meaning. Featuring insights from trauma experts and others, the film challenges the widespread idea that mental illness should be understood purely in biological terms, revealing the myriad ways that madness has meaning beyond brain chemistry.The Eternal Memory
IMDB 8 | Aug , 2023
Augusto and Paulina have been together for 25 years. Eight years ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Both fear the day he no longer recognizes her.A Vida é da Cor que Pintamos
IMDB 0 | Dec , 2023
Perpetuating art was the main objective in the life of visual artist, filmmaker and cultural manager Chico Liberato, who died in January, 2023. A pioneer of animation cinema in Bahia, he left a legacy for the area, and even in his family.Dolphin Reef
IMDB 6.9 | Mar , 2018
Echo is a youngster who can't quite decide if it's time to grow up and take on new responsibilities-or give in to her silly side and just have fun. Dolphin society is tricky, and the coral reef that Echo and his family call home depends on all of its inhabitants to keep it healthy. But Echo has a tough time resisting the many adventures the ocean has to offer.Into Light
IMDB 0 | Sep , 2021
A mother embarks on a journey of acceptance and joy while supporting her child's gender transition in this heartfelt portrayal of single parenting and navigating the complexities surrounding gender and consent.Fear
IMDB 0 | May , 2009
In Fear, documentary filmmaker Michiel van Erp creates a collage of inhabitants of the city of Amsterdam who struggle with various anxiety disorders. Today, more patients with anxiety disorders seek professional help than those who suffer from depression, making anxiety the number one mental illness in the Netherlands. This film will show how a small number of those patients attempt to overcome their fears, in order to get on with their lives in the crowded cosmopolitan city that Amsterdam is today.