Presented this year at the Locarno Film Festival, Radu Jude offers his own interpretation of the most famous Transylvanian figure, endlessly adapted for the screen. The director takes a bite out of the Dracula myth in a bizarre popurri that blends the aesthetics of silent cinema, TikTok, and pornography. In Dracula, vampirism is explored on levels ranging from the sociopolitical to the erotic, while the cruel Vlad Dracula – who inspired the famous novel’s protagonist – proves to be no less of a bloodsucker than today’s vampire, artificial intelligence. Is Dracula, sustained only by the energy of others, not himself a victim of exploitation? That is the question posed by cinema’s punk provocateur, Radu Jude.
Radu Jude graduated in film from the University of Media in Bucharest and began his career as an assistant director before making his debut with a short film. His first feature, The Happiest Girl in the World, premiered in the Berlinale Forum and gained international attention. With Aferim! he won the Silver Bear for Best Director, and in 2021 received the Golden Bear for Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn. At Scanorama, Jude’s Locarno-awarded film Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World was presented. This year, the festival showcases two of his works: Kontinental '2025 and Dracula.