)
Filmmaker Michael Haussman joins VANDAL
)
The company was founded by director Francis Lawrence and producer Heather Heller.
Award-winning writer, director and artist Michael Haussman has joined VANDAL, the company founded by director Francis Lawrence and producer Heather Heller - for commercials, music videos, and branded content in the US.
As a music video director, Haussman has created a canon of music videos featuring the likes of Justin Timberlake, Chemical Brothers, and Kanye West, garnering numerous honors, including six MTV Video Music Awards and a Museum of Modern Art Award. In the commercial arena, he has distinguished himself with high-profile ad campaigns for Levi’s, Diesel, Absolut, BMW, Yves Saint Laurent, Guinness, and more. VANDAL will produce new work in association with Haussman's Person Films, the global production company behind many of the director’s acclaimed longform projects such as Do Not Disturb and The Audition, and commercials for Bulgari, Roger Vivier, Tods, Volvo, Fiat, and Hagenhas; Person Films has also earned a reputation as the most prestigious service company in Italy.
Haussman recently completed the feature film Edge Of The World (formerly titled Rajah), starring John Rhys Myers. The film is being distributed in the U.S. by Samuel Goldwyn Films and is based on the true story of James Brooke, the inspiration behind Kippling’s The Man Who Would Be King and Conrad’s Lord Jim and Heart Of Darkness.
“I’ve always considered Michael to be one of the best in his class as a commercial and music video filmmaker,” said Heller. “Our ethos as a company leans heavily on our cumulative background in celebrity-driven advertising and high-profile videos, and having worked with many of his video clients - Shakira, Justin Timberlake, Selena Gomez and Usher - I felt that Michael would be a natural complement to the VANDAL roster.”
“I believe it is important to keep a balance between films, commercials, music videos and the fine arts, as this cross-pollination of creativity constantly brings a fresh approach to each medium,” said Haussman, whose past films include: Rhinoceros Hunting In Budsapest, starring Nick Cave, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival; Blind Horizon, starring Sam Shepard; The Unsinkable Henry Morgan, which also premiered at Sundance Film Festival; and The Audition, which premiered at The Venice International Film Festival. To date, Haussman has won six international film festivals. Do Not Disturb , the anthology series he created, wrote, directed, and produced with Jude Law, was officially selected for the Cannes Series Festival 2019.
+ membership
Access the world's largest advertising database. With an intuitive toolset that helps you explore, present and collaborate more effectively.
Learn More
Haussman’s most recent art exhibition, Gravity, premiered at Los Angeles Pacific Design Center, and was chosen by L.A. Weekly for inclusion in the “top three of the ten best art exhibitions in LA…” Gravity was presented at Berlin Art Week and Cannes InOut Exhibition. As a painter, Haussman’s solo art show, Naturales, featuring large-scale matador and bull paintings (ink on paper), premiered at the Desoto gallery in Los Angeles and New York Scope Art Fair.
“Michael has the ability to weave natural performances into delicately told stories, across multiple media,” Heller concluded. “He is the kind of artist we had in mind when we created VANDAL.”
