Skip to main content
Humanist Vampire Seeks Consenting Suicidal Person film image

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person

Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant

This event has passed

Meet Sasha, the world’s most compassionate young vampire. Her family is at their wits’ end with her reluctance to embrace their lethal traditions; instead she relies on somewhat ethically sourced blood bags to survive. But when her clan decides to cut off her supply to push her out of her comfort zone, she’s forced to get resourceful. And right off the bat, she meets a brooding young fella who’s ready to give up on life. A match made in heaven.

A crowd pleaser if there ever was one, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is one of the year’s most delightfully morbid curveballs. Ariane Louis-Seize has certainly arrived with this utterly charming, quirky horror comedy about an empathetic vampire refusing to compromise her principles. Boasting a cast of Quebec’s finest, everyone is pitch perfect, led by the uber cool Sara Montpetit of Falcon Lake (VIFF 2022), who summons the spirit of Lydia Deetz (Beetlejuice) with a masterfully calibrated deadpan act that sets the tone for all the hijinks.

 

September 30: Q&A with director Ariane Louis-Seize

 

Series Media Partner

  

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Sara Montpetit, Félix-Antoine Bénard, Steve Laplante, Sophie Cadieux, Marie Brassard, Noémie O’Farrell

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2023

Series

Altered States

Language

In French with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
Content Warning

Self Harm, Suicide

18+

At International Village

19+

At The Rio

90 min
Comedy Drama Horror & Thriller Women Directors

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits

Producer

Jeanne-Marie Poulain, Line Sanger Egede

Screenwriter

Ariane Louis-Seize, Christine Doyon

Cinematography

Shawn Pavlin

Editor

Stephane Lafleur

Original Music

Pilou

Director

Ariane Louis-Seize headshot

Ariane Louis-Seize

Ariane Louis-Seize is a French-Canadian filmmaker based in Montreal. She made her directorial debut with her short film Wild Skin, a fantasy drama which has appeared in more than 50 festivals and won numerous awards, including a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Drama and a Prix Iris nomination at the 19th Quebec Cinema Award. She is also known for her short film The Depths (2019) followed by Shooting Star (2020), which both had their world premiered at TIFF and their Quebec premiere at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma. With Shooting Star, Ariane won a dozen awards and was nominated for a Prix Iris nomination at the 22th Quebec Cinema Award. Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is her first feature film. It’s an offbeat bittersweet comedy which will be released in the fall of 2023.

Filmography: Humanist Vampire Seeks Consenting Suicidal Person (2023)

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Animated)

Dir. Various
83 min

The nominees for Best Animated Short Film include The Girl Who Cried Pearls, a fable from Canadian filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, narrated by Colm Feore.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Round Midnight: Ardeshir Plays Dexter Gordon

Dir. Bertrand Tavernier
131 min

Loosely based on Bud Powell's time in Paris, Round Midnight (131 mins) is maybe the greatest of all films about jazz thanks to the towering performance of real-life jazz great Dexter Gordon. Saxophonist Ardeshir channels Gordon's vibe in his live set.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Montreal, ma belle

Dir. Xiaodan He
118 min

In this Valentine to discovering love later in life, the ever-elegant Joan Chen plays Feng Xia, a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and mother in Montreal whose world is turned upside down when she meets and falls in love with a young Quebecoise.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

2026 Oscar® Shorts (Live Action)

Dir. Various
119 min

This year's contenders in the Live Action category include comedies, drama, an experimental musical, and a dystopian fantasy; films from the UK and the US, France and Israel.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Sirât

Dir. Óliver Laxe
115 min

A desperate father (Sergi Lopez) searchers for his missing daughter through the spiritual wasteland of the Moroccan desert. An unforgettable sensory powerhouse, Sîrat will have you riveted and rattled for hours after the end credits have rolled.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Dir. David Borenstein & Pavel Talankin
90 min

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and Special Jury Prize Winner, Sundance, 2025, this exposé shot by a Russian primary teacher shows how the Putin propaganda machine works to militarize children.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema