PAINKILLERS

After a car accident that killed his son, John is suffering from an extremely rare form of post-traumatic stress disorder: constant tremors, raw nerves and terrible headaches. This is now the daily cocktail of this renowned surgeon. Obviously, no one lets him go near a scalpel. John tries everything to calm his pain: drugs, horse tranquilizers, the collected works of Leonard Cohen, but nothing works. Until the day he accidentally wounds his hand and decides to suck on the wound. To his astonishment, he discovers that this dose of hemoglobin makes all his pains disappear. But if John thinks that a glass of A+ every morning will end his suffering, he quickly realizes that drinking his own blood is not enough. He’ll also have to feed on other humans. And it has to be fresh blood! Giles Daoust, the director of The Room and the producer of Soulmate and Starry Eyes, is a familiar guest at the BIFFF. This time, he’s back, together with co-producer Catherine Dumonceaux, as the screenwriter and producer of Painkillers, a modern twist on the vampire tale that ask poignant ethical questions. Shot entirely in California, with Roxy Shih (The Tribe) at the helm, this Belgian production could count on a terrific cast with Madeline Zima (The Collector, Twin Peaks), Grant Bowler (Killer Elite, Defiance) and Mischa Barton (Lawn Dogs, The O.C.).