“Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant” wins the 2023 GdA Director’s Award

The jury composed of young European cinephiles from the 27 Times Cinema program – jointly organized by Giornate degli Autori, the European Parliament’s LUX Audience Award, and Europa Cinemas, in collaboration with Cineuropa – and headed by director and screenwriter João Pedro Rodrigues, has decreed the winner of the GdA Director’s Award at the culmination of its customary deliberations, which are live-streamed on the Facebook page and YouTube channel of Giornate degli Autori and coordinated by Karel Och, director of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.

The GdA Director’s Award carries a cash prize of € 20,000, to be split equally between the filmmaker and the film’s international distributor, to promote its circulation.

Out of the ten films in competition at the 20th edition of Giornate, “Vampire Humaniste Cherche Suicidaire Consentant” by Ariane Louis-Seize has been named the winner of the 2023 GdA Director’s Award.

The statement of the jury

The jury has released the following statement: “This film deserves to be celebrated for its strong directorial vision and consistent style in its various aspects, such as editing, cinematography, acting and art department. It bravely addresses crucial themes such as depression, mental health, euthanasia and neurodiversity. Nevertheless it is able to do so with a light-hearted feel, which makes the film radical and courageous, making it one of its strongest quirks. The idea that stood out is the possibility to find an alternative way of functioning, in a normative society. While the film has unique tone and style, it joyfully reaches a wider audience thanks to its tenderness and emotional engagement.”

“Vampire Humaniste Cherche Suicidaire Consentant”: a vampire story to exorcise the fear of death

Sasha is a young vampire with a serious problem: she’s too sensitive to kill! When her exasperated parents cut off her blood supply, Sasha’s life is in jeopardy. Luckily, she meets Paul, a lonely teenager with suicidal tendencies who is willing to give his life to save hers. But their friendly agreement soon becomes a nocturnal quest to fulfill Paul’s last wishes before day breaks.

The director: Ariane Louis-Seize

Ariane Louis-Seize is a French-Canadian filmmaker living in Montreal. She made her directorial debut with the short film “Wild Skin”, a fantasy selected at numerous festivals that garnered, among other awards, a nomination at the Canadian Screen Awards and one for the Prix Iris at the Quebec Cinema Awards.

In 2017, he directed “Littles Waves”, which screened at the Toronto and Berlin Film Festivals. Following that, he made the short films “The Depths” (2019) and “Shooting Star” (2020), selected again at the Toronto Film Festival.

“Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant“ is his first feature film.