CinemaOSMovie · 2025 · 1h 17m

ZAAD

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

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.

Directed byDries Meddens

Play
Status
Released
Runtime
1h 17m
Language
NL
Released
December 8, 2025
Studios
seriousFilmAssociate DirectorsIdiot Productions

Featuring

Cast & crew

10 credited
Starring

Dries Meddens

Bernard Sabbe

Luna Meddens

Zeno Meddens

Mélancolie Motte

Ilse Mariën

Zé de Troyer

Zeno Vandamme

Leonie Moreels

Oona-Lisa Desmet

Creative team
Directed by
Dries Meddens
Written by
Dries Meddens
Produced by
Fem Windhorst

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