Françoise wakes up one day from an ominous dream that seemingly foreshadows her imminent death. Not wanting to waste a minute of her remaining time, she consults her crystal pendulum and promptly convinces her best friend Delphine to attend a mysterious costume party. So, they sneak out of their Catholic boarding school and hitch a ride with a suspicious older gentleman who takes an unusual interest in the two young girls. But that’s just the start of their increasingly bizarre encounters, each adding up to Françoise’s prophetic vision.
Bitten exists in the intoxicating space of teenage drama and otherworldly suspense, shrouding the story in a veil of atmospheric angst and riding the momentum of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Everything is vaguely familiar yet just outside the narrative rule book. Drawing from the tradition of the giallo occult mystique, emerging director Romain de Saint-Blanquat impresses with his command of genre tonalities, harnessing the power of heightened adolescent senses, reckless conviction, and insatiable youthful curiosity.
…de Saint-Blanquat’s film has moments of Gothic fancifulness and is an atmospheric and visual delight.
Eye For Film
The short film The Birthday Party will play before this feature.
Presented by
Léonie Dahan-Lamort, Lilith Grasmug, Cyril Metzger, Maxime Rohart, Fred Blin
France
2023
Vanguard
In French with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Marc-Benoît Créancier
Screenwriter
Romain de Saint-Blanquat
Cinematography
Martin Roux
Editor
Sanabel Cherqaoui
Production Design
Sébastien Gondek
Original Music
Émile Sornin
Director
Romain de Saint-Blanquat
After studying cinema in Bordeaux and Paris, where he directed a graduation short film, Romain de Saint-Blanquat worked as a decorator, production assistant and screenwriter. He is a winner of the Gan Foundation Award. Bitten is his first feature film.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Romería
An orphan from a young age, 18-year-old Marina intends to pursue a university scholarship. The application, however, requires the signatures of her paternal grandparents, compelling her to embark on a pilgrimage and seek out the family she has never met.
The Crying Game
Notwithstanding its famous twist, Neil Jordan's moody thriller works differently on a second viewing, and hits different in 2026, with its rich and "problematic" stew of identity politics, love, violence and desire.
One False Move
Billy Bob Thornton and his partners in crime (Michael Beach, and Cynda Williams) hightail it out of Los Angeles with a trunk-ful of dope, but drive into a world of trouble. This unjustly forgotten thriller will keep you on your toes.
