Olivier Godin's short film, Dracula Sex Tape, is a 5-minute burst of high-energy dialogue and smoking. It is like inhaling Richard Linklater's Slacker, in a single intense drag that leaves one light-headed and satisfied simultaneously.
The short, which debuted at Woche der Kritik 2021 this week, offers an excellent lesson in taking a frame-capture and making it a poster, simply by turning it sideways. Et voilà: A compelling piece of key art.
A contemplative woman enjoys a cigarette. A figure is seen walking away in the distance. Was it something that figure said or did? Negative space abounds on a cold winter's day in Quebec. The title card is mid-poster, in a skinny lower-case 'typewriter typeset,' that matches the woman's lone visible earring, as she glances outside of the frame. She is not so much looking at something, but thinking about something.
Not only is it beautifully framed, but like any good photo, it offers hints of a story. Dracula Sex Tape is about the conception of vampire stories in the moment of the 21st century.