Daniel is convinced that he would have had a better, crime-free life if his father had not left at the age of three. His Dutch father, however, wants nothing to do with his son, who ended up on death row in Addis Ababa. A DNA test joined these two men forever, though and it turns out that they have more in common than they ever thought.

Floris-Jan van Luyn is both a director and a writer and The Bastard is not his first achievement. In 2011 he won the prize for best Science & Conscience documentary for Rainmakers. His later documentary Diary of a Homing Pigeon told the story of a carrier pigeon from the unique narrative perspective of a pigeon. Talking about the film, Luyn said that he does not necessarily stick to reality, but brings a mix of reality and documentary. He uses this style in The Bastard too by looking for the story behind reality. Daniel makes an ultimate attempt to get in touch with his father and to make peace with the past.