Fantastic Fest: AARDVARK Trailer

To put it simply, this film fulfills two of my favorite cinematic cravings… a strange story, and a basis in real life events. I love it when the phrase “truth is stranger than fiction” can be put into practical use, and this is one of those examples. It also doesn’t hurt that the story involves an element of mixed martial arts. AARDVARK is the feature film debut of director Kitao Sakurai. The story is based on the life of Larry Lewis, Jr. who also stars as himself in the film.

Synopsis: Larry Lewis Jr. lives in the small town of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He is blind. He is also a recovering alcoholic. Larry doesn’t let his physical limitations interfere with his enjoyment of life. He holds down a regular job, gets around on his own, and likes to get involved in all kinds of adventures. While walking down the street, Larry’s curiosity is piqued by grunting and groaning noises coming from a Jiu-Jitsu studio. He befriends the instructor (Darren Branch) and becomes his student. As often seems the case with complete strangers they quickly become fast friends, Darren has a secret life that will provide Larry with more adventure”and mayhem” than he could ever possibly want. (Rodney Perkins)