When the short film The Vandal premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, it was met with a glowing response. The response was so glowing, in fact, that shortly after the film debuted, a feature-length adaptation was announced, backed by notable filmmakers such as Steven Soderbergh and Darren Aronofsky. But the film has not been available to view for the public until now. The New Yorker just released the full short film onto their YouTube channel.
The Vandal was created by Eddie Alcazar, who has previously directed the 2018 film Perfect. For his short film The Vandal, Alcazar took an experimental and downright Lynchian approach to create the story of lobotomy patient Harold, played by Bill Duke, and Eva, played by Baadja-Lyne Odums. The film blends stop motion animation and live-action in a technique that Alcazar calls Metascope.
The Vandal tells the story of Harold, a man who recently underwent a lobotomy, and his process of grieving the tragic loss of his wife, Eva. The film details the ways in which his altered mind processes grief, to tragic and unexpected results, and arch that the full title of the film, The Vandal -- Grieving the Loss of a Love and Oneself, more than hints at.
The short was executive produced by Darren Aronofsky, a filmmaker who is no stranger to experimentation and intense filmmaking techniques. Scott Franklin, Sandy Haddad, Ted Robbins, and Matthew Krul also serve as executive producers for the film. Javier Lovato and Thomas Hildreth serve as the film's producers. As well as directing the film, Alcazar also wrote the short. The film is presented under New Yorker Studios.
No further information other than an announcement has been made regarding the release or production of the full-length film. You can watch the film below: