Reality & Madness

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I am fascinated by the varying shades that madness comes in. Especially the kind that is symptomatic of human fragility. When life breaks you and the weight of it all becomes too much to bear, madness can be a viable option. It could be the superficial kind that drives people to lose touch with society and develop their own "crazy" habits and aspirations. Or it could be the kind that makes you lose touch with reality and escape inward.

The characters I create are sensitive and conflicted individuals who are haunted by their past, present or future. Outsiders who have embraced madness as a means of breaking free from the equally tragic and mundane confines that reality places us under. Not all of them exist on the fringe of sanity. But most of them do lead their lives on the fringe of society. I don't know why I am drawn to such characters. Perhaps it is because I can't make sense of society, so I try to make sense of those who fall through the cracks. Or maybe I don't want to make sense of society, because I believe that happiness lies elsewhere. Somewhere between reality and madness.

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But who am I anyway? That's a tough question. My name is Leander, but that's not who I am. I write and direct films, but that's not who I am either. If anything, I am a sentient formation of skin, blood and bone, commonly defined as human. Which is a crying shame, because I would much rather be a unicorn. But I suppose being a storyteller is the next best thing.