A horror comedy set in Montreal telling the coming-of-age story of a teenage vampire is the winner of this year's Windsor International Film Festival prize for Canadian film.
Quebec director Ariane Louis-Seize took home the $25,000 award today for her film "Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person," which explores a teen's ethical qualms about feeding on the human blood she needs to survive.
The panel of jurors who determined the winner praised the movie's deft handling of multiple genres, calling it "risky and memorable" with a comedically downbeat tone.
The jury also praised the lead performance by Sara Montpetit
The prize was awarded at a private afternoon reception. At a previous event, the festival also honoured veteran director Philippe Falardeau — behind such projects as "Monsieur Lazhar" and "The Good Lie" — with its spotlight award for career achievement and industry impact.
Other nominees for the WIFF prize included Matt Johnson's "Blackberry," which loosely chronicles the rise and fall of a Canadian telecom giant, the opera-inspired "Seven Veils" from Atom Egoyan and Louise Archambault's Second World War drama "Irena's Vow.''
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2023.
The Canadian Press
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version incorrectly stated that Philippe Falardeau received the Spotlight award at Sunday's ceremony. In fact, he received the award on a previous occasion.
