Radu Jude's highly anticipated film 'Dracula' is set to have its world premiere at the 78th Locarno Film Festival. The festival runs from August 6 to August 16, 2025, with the film competing for the Golden Leopard award in the main competition. 'Dracula' will premiere on August 10, 2025, offering a unique exploration of the iconic vampire myth, drawing inspiration from both the legendary figure and the historical character of Vlad Țepeș.
The 170-minute film, a co-production between Romania, Austria, and Luxembourg, features actors Adonis Tanța and Gabriel Spahiu. Jude, known for his distinctive style that blends various genres, has crafted a film described as a journey through pulp, avant-garde, grotesque, and hyperrealistic elements. This marks Jude's return to Locarno, a festival where his previous works have been recognized for their sharp, often darkly comedic, and myth-deconstructing approach. Following its international debut, 'Dracula' is slated for release in Romanian cinemas on October 10, 2025. North American distribution rights have been acquired by 1-2 Special, indicating a wider audience for Jude's latest cinematic offering.
Vlad Țepeș, also known as Vlad the Impaler, was a 15th-century voivode of Wallachia, whose brutal methods of punishment, particularly impalement, contributed to his fearsome reputation and are believed to have inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula. Born around 1431 in Sighișoara, Transylvania, Vlad Țepeș's father was a member of the Order of the Dragon, a chivalric order founded in 1408 to defend Christianity against the Ottoman Empire, from which the name 'Dracula' is derived.