Quentin Dupieux has unveiled his first animated feature, “Le Vertige” (English title: Vertiginous), a playfully glitchy, low-poly comedy that deliberately mimics the look of early 2000s PlayStation games — and it has emerged as one of the more talked-about titles at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
The film premiered as the closing night selection of the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar on May 21. Clocking in at a brisk 67 minutes, “Le Vertige” follows a man (Alain Chabat) who becomes convinced that reality is a simulation, pulling his skeptical friend (Jonathan Cohen) and the friend’s pregnant partner (Anaïs Demoustier) into an increasingly absurd series of events. True to Dupieux’s style — seen previously in live-action works like Rubber, Deerskin, and Smoking Causes Coughing — the movie blends philosophical riffs on simulation theory with deadpan humor and surreal touches.
What sets the project apart is its distinctive visual approach. The entire film was animated to evoke the blocky, low-resolution aesthetic of PS1 and early PS2-era titles such as GTA: Vice City. Stiff movements, visible polygons, and intentional glitches reinforce the story’s themes of artificiality and the uncanny valley.
A small team of five recent graduates from the prestigious Gobelins animation school in France — Yann Roussel, Max Nicolas, Rémi Alleman, Solane Duval, and Léo Pouliquen — handled the bulk of the animation using Blender software. Motion capture was achieved through a low-budget setup involving real actors shot on location and processed with an iPhone and a consumer-grade app. Frequent Dupieux collaborator Joan Le Boru served as art director.
The DIY production stands in contrast to typical high-budget animated features, leaning into a nostalgic “poor image” aesthetic rather than smooth, photorealistic CGI. Early audience and critical reactions at Cannes have been largely positive, with many praising how the crude visual style perfectly complements the film’s meta commentary on digital imagery, AI art, and early 2000s gaming nostalgia.
Dupieux also had another new film, Full Phil, premiere in the festival’s Midnight section this year, marking a busy 2026 for the French filmmaker-musician (known as Mr. Oizo).
“Le Vertige” is scheduled for theatrical release in France on June 10, 2026. Trailers showcasing the film’s distinctive game-like visuals have already begun generating interest online among both cinephiles and retro gaming fans.
