Directed by: Philippe Woodtli
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre & tags: Drama, Horror, Fantastic, Terror, Thriller, Independent Cinema, European, Film noir
Running time: 15’11”
Country: Switzerland

Synopsis

Ortiz is a card mechanic with blood on his knuckles and a rigged deck in his pocket. At the Vagabond, an off-the-grid gambling joint, he and his partner Fay run the perfect con—quick, clean, and gone before the suckers know they’ve been played. That’s the plan.

But not everyone at the table is playing by the same rules. Vince, a Caribbean grinder with a busted arm and a kill switch temper, spots the play and flips the game. The room erupts—blood, fire, and payback.

Pulling the con is easy. Getting out clean is where it all goes wrong.

And when the smoke clears, something in the dark shifts—and it isn’t done yet.

Director’s Statement

What I wanted to tell with this story comes from my fascination with gambling schemes, cons, and the art of misdirection. I’ve always been drawn to the idea that someone can spend years mastering a skill, not to win fairly, but to outsmart the system and take money from a mark with precision. That world has always captivated me, and it’s the kind of story I love watching. With Vagabond, I wanted to show how I would approach a con like this. Not just how to pull it off, but why the con itself is often the easy part. It’s the getaway that really decides everything.

I’m drawn to the gangster world because in that space, only one thing truly matters: trust. Who is really on your side, and who isn’t. The same is true for a card mechanic’s team at the poker table. You need total preparation. You need to know every angle. And most importantly, you need the right partner. If you don’t, things go bad fast.

That’s what I wanted to explore. The precision, the pressure, and the betrayal behind the illusion.