Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
File:Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person.jpeg Official release poster
Directed by	Ariane Louis-Seize
Produced by	Jeanne-Marie Poulain Line Sander Egede
Written by	Christine Doyon Ariane Louis-Seize
Starring	Sara Montpetit Félix-Antoine Bénard Steve Laplante
Cinematography	Shawn Pavlin
Edited by	Stéphane Lafleur
Production company	Art et Essai
Distributed by	H264
Release dates	September 3, 2023 (2023-09-03) (Mostra)
Country	Canada
Language	French

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (French: Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant) is a 2023 Canadian French-language vampire comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Ariane Louis-Seize. It stars Sara Montpetit as Sasha, a teenage vampire who befriends Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard), a boy with suicidal tendencies.

Plot

Sasha is a teenage vampire who struggles with the morality of killing people for their blood; however, after her parents cut off her blood supply, she enters a pact with Paul, a suicidal and very depressed boy, on the condition that she must spend the night helping him finish the things he still wants to do before he dies.

Cast

• Sara Montpetit as Sasha
• Félix-Antoine Bénard as Paul
• Steve Laplante
• Sophie Cadieux
• Noémie O'Farrell
• Arnaud Vachon
• Marie Brassard
• Madeleine Péloquin
• Gabriel-Antoine Roy
• Isabella Villalba
• Patrick Hivon
• Marc Beaupré
• Micheline Bernard
• Sylvie Lemay
• Ariane Castellanos

Production

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person was shot in fall 2022 in Montreal.

Release

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2023. The film had its Canadian premiere in the Centrepiece program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, and received a gala screening at the 2023 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival. It also screened in the Noves Visions section at the 56th Sitges Film Festival.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 34 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A teen coming-of-age story with an undead twist, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person proves consistently charming even as it hits a number of expected genre beats."

Nikki Baughan of Screen Daily wrote that "Louis-Seize leans heavily into European arthouse influences for her French-language production. Sarah — who is, in fact 68 (although still a teenager in human years) — is presented as something of an ingenue, her long dark hair, blunt fringe and doe eyes giving her both a vulnerability and an intriguing edge. She listens to vinyl, she plays the keyboard, she is by nature (and necessity) a loner. Her connection with Paul is immediate and surprising, and the chemistry between the two is authentic."

The film was named to TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list for 2023.

Awards

Award / Film Festival	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref(s)
Venice International Film Festival	September 9, 2023	Giornate degli Autori, Best Director	Ariane Louis-Seize	Won
Calgary International Film Festival	September 25, 2023	RBC Emerging Canadian Artist		Won
	October 3, 2023	Audience Choice Award, Canadian Narrative Feature	Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person	Won
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival	September 28, 2023	Best French-Language Feature Film		Won
Festival du nouveau cinéma	October 15, 2023	National Competition, Grand Prize		Won
Directors Guild of Canada	October 21, 2023	Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award	Ariane Louis-Seize	Won
Windsor International Film Festival	October 29, 2023	Best Canadian Film		Won
Vancouver Film Critics Circle	February 12, 2024	Best Canadian Film	Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person	Pending
		Best Female Actor in a Canadian Film	Sara Montpetit	Pending
		One to Watch	Ariane Louis-Seize	Pending
Toronto Film Critics Association	March 4, 2024	Rogers Best Canadian Film Award	Ariane Louis-Seize	Pending
Prix collégial du cinéma québécois	April 5, 2024	Best Film		Pending

External links

• Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person at IMDb

• Éric Lavallée, "Bloodsuckers: Sara Montpetit Toplines Ariane Louis-Seize's 'Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant'". Ion Cinema, October 25, 2022.
• Guillaume Picard, "Le film «Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant» présenté à Venise". Le Journal de Montréal, July 27, 2023.
• Charles-Henri Ramond, "Ariane Louis-Seize en tournage". Films du Québec, November 17, 2022.
• "Vampire dramedy, tribute to late Jean-Marc Vallée set for Venice film sidebar". Toronto Star, July 27, 2023.
• Heidi Ulrichsen, "Cinéfest 2023 features strong Canadian content". Sudbury.com, August 23, 2023.
• Nikki Baughan, "'Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person': Venice Review". Screen Daily, September 3, 2023.
• Pat Mullen, "TIFF's Canada's Top Ten Includes BlackBerry, Solo, Humanist Vampire". That Shelf, December 6, 2023.
• Marta Bałaga, "'Radical and Courageous' Dark Comedy 'Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person,' 'Through the Night' Pick Up Venice Days Awards". Variety, September 8, 2023.
• Aryn Toombs, "Winners of 2023 CIFF competitions unveiled". LiveWire Calgary, September 25, 2023.
• "Summer Qamp, Drawing a Life audience favourites at CIFF". LiveWire Calgary, October 3, 2023.
• "Cinéfest reveals 2023 award winners". Sudbury.com, September 28, 2023.
• Charles-Henri Ramond, "(FNC 2023) Chloé Leriche et Ariane Louis-Seize récompensées". Films du Québec, October 16, 2023.
• Connie Thiessen, "'Women Talking' leads winners at 22nd annual DGC Awards". Broadcast Dialogue, October 22, 2023.
• "Horror comedy from Ariane Louis-Seize wins Windsor International Film Festival prize". Toronto Star, October 29, 2023.
• Erik Anderson, "Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) Awards: 'The Zone of Interest' Wins Best Picture, Director". AwardsWatch, December 17, 2023.
• Charles-Henri Ramond, "Les finalistes du 13e PCCQ". Films du Québec, January 11, 2024.