Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (French: Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant), also released as Humanist Vampire Too Sensitive to Kill, is a 2023 French-language Canadian vampire comedy horror film co-written and directed by Ariane Louis-Seize.^[3] It stars Sara Montpetit as Sasha, a teenage vampire who befriends Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard), a boy with suicidal tendencies.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
Theatrical release poster
French	Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant
Directed by	Ariane Louis-Seize
Written by	Ariane Louis-Seize Christine Doyon
Produced by	Jeanne-Marie Poulain Line Sander Egede
Starring	Sara Montpetit Félix-Antoine Bénard Steve Laplante Sophie Cadieux Noémie O'Farrell Marie Brassard Patrick Hivon Marc Beaupré
Cinematography	Shawn Pavlin
Edited by	Stéphane Lafleur
Music by	Pierre-Philippe Côté
Production company	Art et Essai
Distributed by	H264
Release dates	September 3, 2023 (2023-09-03) (Venice) October 13, 2023 (2023-10-13) (Canada)
Running time	91 minutes[1]
Country	Canada
Language	French
Box office	$104,189[2]

Plot

In her childhood, Sasha, a vampire, is traumatized after her family attacks and eats a clown they had hired to perform at her birthday. As a result, Sasha's fangs do not sprout and she is uncomfortable with the idea of killing people for food. Years later, she still refuses to kill and still does not have fangs.

One night, Sasha notices a teenager, Paul, attempting to jump from atop a building, but he eventually does not. Later, Sasha's fangs suddenly emerge when she encounters him again. In a panic, she runs back home where her parents have decided that she will live with her older cousin, Denise, to learn how to hunt people.

Sasha is reluctant to learn and attracts attention as Denise feeds on JP, a man they had lured earlier, distracting her and turning him into a vampire. She reunites with Paul at a support group meeting for people experiencing suicidal thoughts. After the meeting, the two agree to help each other with Sasha assisting in his suicide and feeding on him. However, Sasha's fangs disappear, and she tries to stall by asking him if he has a dying wish. Paul says he would like to get payback on Henry, his co-worker who constantly bullies him.

When they find out that Henry has gone to a party, Paul becomes hesitant about getting payback in front of everyone. Sasha suggests he could practice to boost his confidence. Paul then decides to get payback on a popular girl at school, his gym teacher, and his principal.

At the party, Henry taunts Paul, and Paul bites his hand. As they run away, Sasha collapses from hunger. Paul then cuts his hand to feed her his blood. Henry and his friends find them and start beating Paul up. Sasha's fangs suddenly emerge, and she kills Henry and urges Paul to go home.

Denise demands Paul must also be killed while she helps Sasha bury Henry's body, but Sasha knocks Denise out. Sasha runs to Paul and they decide to run away, but at a hotel room, Paul doubts their success. He urges Sasha to turn him into a vampire. After being persuaded, she bites him, but he struggles to breathe. Sasha calls her family, who are able to turn him into a vampire by feeding him blood.

Some time later, Sasha and Paul arrive at a hospice his mother is working at, where they are directed to a terminally ill patient's room. Sasha plays the keyboard for the patient as Paul drains the patient's blood into a bag.

Cast

• Sara Montpetit as Sasha
  • Lilas-Rose Cantin as Sasha at 6 years old
• Félix-Antoine Bénard as Paul
• Steve Laplante as Aurélien, Sasha's father
• Sophie Cadieux as Georgette, Sasha's mother
• Noémie O'Farrell as Denise
  • Valence Laroche as Denise at 12 years old
• Arnaud Vachon as Henry
• Marie Brassard as Victorine, Sasha's aunt
• Madeleine Péloquin as Sandrine, Paul's mother
• Gabriel-Antoine Roy as JP
• Isabella Villalba as Mélisse Bessette
• Patrick Hivon as Coach Goyette
• Marc Beaupré as Rico-Berlingot
• Micheline Bernard as Principal Gauvin
• Sylvie Lemay as Renaude
• Ariane Castellanos as Claudie

Production

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person was shot in fall 2022 in Montreal.^[4]

Release

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2023.^[5] The film had its Canadian premiere in the Centrepiece program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival,^[6] and received a gala screening at the 2023 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival.^[7] It also screened in the Noves Visions section at the 56th Sitges Film Festival.^[8] The film was released in Canada on October 13, 2023, by H264.^[9] Drafthouse Films acquired distribution rights for the United States, with the film being released in Los Angeles and New York City on June 21, 2024, before expanding to more cities the following week.^[10]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 80 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's consensus reads: "While not as innovative as its title, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person offers a dark-ish comedic take on a teen love story between misfits that renders a strangely sweet bite."^[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[12]

Nikki Baughan of Screen Daily wrote that "Louis-Seize leans heavily into European arthouse influences for her French-language production. Sasha—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."^[13]

The film was included in TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list for 2023.^[14]

Accolades

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	[15]
Calgary International Film Festival	September 25, 2023	RBC Emerging Canadian Artist		Won	[16]
	October 3, 2023	Audience Choice Award, Canadian Narrative Feature	Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person	Won	[17]
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival	September 28, 2023	Best French-Language Feature Film		Won	[18]
Festival du nouveau cinéma	October 15, 2023	National Competition, Grand Prize		Won	[19]
Directors Guild of Canada	October 21, 2023	Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award	Ariane Louis-Seize	Won	[20]
Windsor International Film Festival	October 29, 2023	Best Canadian Film		Won	[21]
Vancouver Film Critics Circle	February 12, 2024	Best Canadian Film	Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person	Nominated	[22]
		Best Female Actor in a Canadian Film	Sara Montpetit	Won
		One to Watch	Ariane Louis-Seize	Won
Toronto Film Critics Association	March 4, 2024	Rogers Best Canadian Film Award	Ariane Louis-Seize	Nominated	[23]
Prix collégial du cinéma québécois	April 5, 2024	Best Film		Nominated	[24]
Canadian Screen Awards	2024	Best Picture	Jeanne-Marie Poulain, Line Sander Egede	Nominated	[25]
		Best Director	Ariane Louis-Seize	Nominated
		Best Lead Performance in a Comedy Film	Félix-Antoine Bénard	Nominated
			Sara Montpetit	Nominated
		Best Supporting Performance in a Comedy Film	Steve Laplante	Nominated
			Noémie O'Farrell	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Ariane Louis-Seize, Christine Doyon	Won	[26]
		Best Art Direction/Production Design	Ludovic Dufresne	Nominated	[25]
		Best Costume Design	Kelly-Anne Bonieux	Nominated
		Best Editing	Stéphane Lafleur	Nominated
		Best Casting in a Film	Tania Arana	Nominated
		John Dunning Best First Feature	Ariane Louis-Seize	Nominated
Prix Iris	December 8, 2024	Best Film	Jeanne-Marie Poulain, Line Sander Egede	Won	[27]
		Best Director	Ariane Louis-Seize	Nominated	[28]
		Best Actor	Félix-Antoine Bénard	Nominated
		Best Actress	Sara Montpetit	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Steve Laplante	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Marie Brassard	Nominated
			Sophie Cadieux	Nominated
			Noémie O'Farrell	Nominated
		Revelation of the Year	Félix-Antoine Bénard	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Ariane Louis-Seize, Christine Doyon	Won	[27]
		Best Art Direction	Ludovic Dufresne	Won	[29]
		Best Costume Design	Kelly-Anne Bonieux	Nominated	[28]
		Best Cinematography	Shawn Pavlin	Nominated
		Best Editing	Stéphane Lafleur	Won	[29]
		Best Original Music	Pierre-Philippe Côté	Nominated	[28]
		Best Sound	Marie-Pierre Grenier, Simon Gervais, Luc Boudrias, Thierry Bourgault D'Amico	Won	[29]
		Best Hairstyling	Jean-Luc Lapierre	Nominated	[28]
		Best Makeup	Tania Guarnaccia	Nominated
		Best Visual Effects	Marie-Claude Lafontaine, Jean-François Ferland, Simon Beaupré	Won	[29]
		Best Casting	Tania Arana	Won
		Most Successful Film Outside Quebec	Jeanne-Marie Poulain, Line Sander Egede, Ariane Louis-Seize, Christine Doyon, Stéphanie Demers, Jean-Christophe J. Lamontagne	Nominated	[28]
		Best First Film	Ariane Louis-Seize	Won	[27]