Step 1: How to find a Dwarf

So how do you find a European theatre performer who plays a Dwarf in rural China and on top of that agrees to having it all filmed? I guess you could probably try and Google it, but I wouldn't know where you would end up when doing so. Might be interesting to give it a try though :)

But that's not how it went. This Dwarf isn't just any Dwarf. This Dwarf is special, and more importantly: the person who performs the Dwarf, Jeanmarie Bevort, is one of the most inspiring people I've met in my life.

Jeanmarie Bevort

I met him nine years ago when my life wasn't looking as bright as it does now. After high school I had started studying history. A year later I'd quit my study because I couldn't stand the idea of reading books and making group assignments for three years in a row.

Cartoon by David Horsey

Some might argue that I chose the easy way out, but to quit my study wasn't an easy decision. Almost everyone I knew told me it was a stupid idea, or that I at least should start another study. I decided to be stubborn, follow my gut feeling and quit studying anyway. At first they turned out to be right. 

To earn my rent I had to do a job at a call-center. I was sitting in a cubicle for 40 hours a week, earning minimum wage just to be able to make ends meet. It seemed completely pointless to me and to be honest I couldn't have felt more depressed.

But as I often experienced throughout my life, life can be incredibly generous when you follow your gut feeling in stead of other people's fears. Because at this all-time low in my life I "coincidentally" got a call from one of my mates, that his father needed an assistant for his theatre performance. I had never met him but seeing the circumstances it sounded like a great plan.

At the time I had no idea what I was in for but it turned out to be a great adventure, with some great life lessons along the way. Lessons you can't learn at University.