A powerful four-year journey into the eccentric life of manic-depressive outside artist Zbigniew Fiks, known as Z.

The bags under his eyes look pregnant, his fingers and mustache are stained orange by tobacco, and his smile looks to have been carved by a child on a jack-o-lantern. Zbignew Daniel Fiks, known as 'Z,' is sixty years old, but looks to be significantly older. Despite his rough exterior he is tremendously engaging, very intelligent, an outstanding conversationalist. After emigrating from Poland at age thirteen, his family settled down in Chicago. He began showing signs of artistic ability at an early age and was considered by his peers to be a 'genius;' his early art and drawings were referred to as 'da Vinci-esc.' As a teen he experimented with drugs, which amplified his yet to be detected bipolar condition. A reaction to LSD landed him in a mental institution, marking a point when 'things started to go wrong.'

The film follows his three-year bipolar cycle, interwoven throughout are Z's personal home videos, films and audiotapes. The home video footage vividly narrates the high points of his once happy family, as well as its slow destruction, the aftermath of the divorce, his loneliness, insanity and depression. Z develops a relationship with his camera; he speaks to the camera often as if it were a friend, a muse. The footage is very raw and engaging, and the voyeuristic quality reveals a certain truth. Testimony from his friends and family add a rich layer to his personal history. His poetry throughout serves as the product of his illness, illustrating his passionate, tragic, and truly unforgettable story.

Cast & Crew

•       Zbignew Daniel Fiks

Director: BRAD BESSER

Director: VINCE CLEMENTE

Producer: BRAD BESSER

Producer: VINCE CLEMENTE

Additional Details

Label: Indieblitz

Genre: Documentary

Run Time: 79 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 09/25/12

UPC: 707541514897