Sightlines · reception
How Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person was received
2023 · Ariane Louis-Seize · Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person on Sightlines
The arc
It premiered quietly in Venice's indie sidebar in 2023 — where it took the top Giornate degli Autori prize — and has since traveled almost entirely on word of mouth, going from festival-circuit curio to a fixture of 'hidden gems you need to watch' lists.
What’s debated
The recurring split is whether its deadpan gentleness is the whole point or a dodge — too cozy and quirky for a film about a suicidal teen, or quietly the most humane way anyone's handled that premise.
Its footprint
The title IS the footprint: routinely cited among the all-time great film titles, it does the work of a whole logline, and half its Letterboxd reviews are just people marveling that a movie called that actually delivers.
Where it stands
A small-but-secure Letterboxd favorite — the Québécois vampire dramedy cinephiles hand each other like a secret, filed next to Let the Right One In and What We Do in the Shadows in the 'sweet vampire' shelf.
Did you know? It was Ariane Louis-Seize's debut feature, and it won the Giornate degli Autori Director's Award at Venice 2023 — a prize decided by a jury of 27 young European cinephiles from the 27 Times Cinema program.
Named by the director
- Harold and Maude (1971) — Louis-Seize has said Paul was partly inspired by Harold, and names it as her ideal double-feature partner for the film.
- The Hunger (1983) — Cited by Louis-Seize for treating vampires as complex characters rather than mere bloodthirsty monsters.
- A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) — Louis-Seize has called Amirpour's lonely-vampire tale a big inspiration.