Tom lives in anxiety. Every day he’s struggling to find a balance between depression and overconfidence. He questions and criticizes endlessly his surroundings, his encounters, but also himself. Tom has problems with a disproportionate form of distrust.
‘The Human Riddle’ is part of the participatory film project ‘Moving Identity’ by Ilke De Vries. In this project she collaborated with five persons with a psychological vulnerability.
Tom was one of them. In the course of two years Ilke De Vries accompanied Tom in filming his own surroundings and making his own footage with the i-pad Ilke De Vries provided him. Through interviews he talked about his life course, his struggles and his way of thinking. In monthly group meetings they showed each other’s materials, discussed content, techniques and next steps. This process was a collaboration from beginning to end and only through this participatory process Ilke De Vries was able to make such a personal portrait of Tom and the struggles he is dealing with.
