Sasha doesn’t see life the same way as her parents, or rather, death, or finally, eternity: it’s complicated. This is because the young girl grew up in a family of vampires. However, his compassion prevents him from biting any human. But now, for the good of their offspring, Sasha’s parents cut off her food. While she has to reconcile her values and her needs for the first time, Sasha meets Paul, a teenager who has decided to end things, but without succeeding. What if they helped each other? Award-winning in Venice, the black, romantic and horrific comedy by Ariane Louis-Seize Humanist vampire seeking consenting suicide arrives at the Festival du nouveau cinéma, before hitting the screens on October 13.
By her own admission, the filmmaker has studied vampire films well, hers evoking a cross between Let the Right One Inby Tomas Alfredson, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Nightby Ana Lily Amirpour, and… Karminaby Gabriel Pelletier.
“I had the flash of this character, a vampire who refuses to kill and, therefore, posts classified ads in the newspapers stipulating: “Humanist vampire seeking consenting suicide”. When reading this fictitious ad, my co-writer Christine Doyon exclaimed: “It’s genius! That’s our title! ”,” explains Ariane Louis-Seize.
This first feature film is, in this case, the realization of an old dream for her.
“I’ve always liked vampire or genre films, but more those from the independent scene, likeOnly Lovers Left Alive (The Last Lovers), by Jim Jarmusch. A film like The Hunger (The predators), by Tony Scott also influenced me a lot: it was one of my first favorites because the vampires are not shown as bloodthirsty monsters: we explore their humanity, if I may. say. I’m also a fan of dark humor… So it’s a mix of lots of influences, including deadpan comedy. »
A playful film
In this regard, the comic factor cannot be minimized, since the desire to laugh animated the filmmaker even while she and her collaborator were writing the script.
“I wanted to have fun. It was COVID, it was hard for everyone, so I envisioned a generous, playful film — the word “player” kept coming up with Christine. We haven’t carefully calculated our mix of genres. We went there more feelingdepending on what we found endearing or funny…”
About the gagsfellow filmmaker Stéphane Lafleur (You are sleeping Nicole, viking), who edited the film, had many encouraging comments during production:
“There were moments during filming when I wondered if it would work, this cinematographic object there. But Stéphane, who was riding in parallel, constantly came back to me with encouragement. I believe that my cinema shares a certain kinship with his, so coming from him, it was reassuring. »
In fact, many of the laughs come from the loving but tense relationship between Sasha and her parents. Universal, this theme of generational conflict is colored with macabre “Addams Family” humor, due to the context.
“We wanted to make Sasha [Sara Montpetit] a regular teenager with problems her age, but of course slightly different problems. All this, within an ordinary, banal Quebec family. In our heads, they were vampires from the South Shore,” summarizes the director with a chuckle.
The father (Steve Laplante) always showing himself to be conciliatory, it is up to the mother (Sophie Cadieux) to impose limits.
“It was wanted to deal with lots of questions not necessarily associated with gender, such as that of the mental burden that the mother assumes more: here, it is she who is forced to “hunt” the most. We had fun reproducing these kinds of very human dynamics in vampires, with which we can easily identify. Basically, I wanted to make a film that talks about death, but which, in fact, mainly talks about life; a film which is luminous and which is interested in our need to come into contact with others. »
Respective solitudes
Fact, Humanist vampire seeking consenting suicideit is first of all the story of a connection, that which is established between Sasha and Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard).
“I saw this love story from the outset, but I wanted to avoid a classic approach. It’s romantic, yes, but there aren’t the traditional scenes of the first kiss or the first time they sleep together. We are elsewhere. We’re not into physical attraction. Their love lies rather in the fact that these two beings, who feel isolated in their respective worlds, come together. They recognize each other in their respective solitudes and, in a certain way, they complete each other. »
At the same time, Ariane Louis-Seize goes into a wonderful anecdote concerning Sara Montpetit and Félix-Antoine Bénard: “When they gave each other a response in the audition the first time, I was dazzled: my film as I I envisioned it from the beginning came alive before my eyes. Conversely, they were discouraged because they believed that the flow had not flowed. It’s because they both arrived at the audition with an already complete composition: it was impressive. Except that it meant that they didn’t receive from the other person what they expected and that destabilized them both. Now, for me, it was precisely this unease between their characters that I hoped to capture. Afterward, in rehearsal, their bond was immediate. »
Although this initial discomfort was experienced, it was nevertheless able to be preserved in the performance of the young stars.
A kitsch setting
Favoring Sasha’s perspective, the film is, moreover, a deliciously macabre initiatory story.
“We play with the concept of the first times,” opines the filmmaker. In the classic initiation story, there is often the first time the heroine makes love. Here, this becomes the first time she bites someone. We twist the codes in order to create surprises…”
Said surprises readily arise from the opposition between the lugubrious nature of the actions or intentions of the characters and the execution of the filmmaker, who presents her film in an irresistible kitsch setting.
“There too, it’s a mixture of so many elements… I use the term “kitsch” because I like that aesthetic. The colors, the textures, the interplay of eras, the sets, the costumes, the music… Playing with all that…”
The result is an offbeat and timeless film — that’s a compliment.
“I sought to summon in my film the qualities that touch me as a spectator, such as the marriage between ordinary life and the supernatural. Or like when we associate melancholy and fun…”
Or, compassion and thrills. And it’s very successful.
Humanist vampire seeking consenting suicide will be screened at the FNC on October 10 and 12, then will be shown on October 13.