‘de waanzin van het detail’ paints a portrait of the contemporary painter sam dillemans. To dillemans, who lives in borgerhout, van gogh, picasso, rubens or goya are not painters of yesterday but of today. They inspire him on a daily basis and at the same time their crushing genius also depresses him. In addition to being a very talented artist sam dillemans is so a gifted storyteller. While working on a self-portrait in his studio, he talks about his life and his work, how it relates to cultural history, the sacrifices painting demands and how people can learn to interpret paintings.