Radu Jude’s Locarno selection ‘Dracula’ lands North American deal

Ambitious fledgling New York distributor 1-2 Special has swooped on North American rights to Radu Jude’s Dracula, which was announced earlier on Tuesday in the Locarno Film Festival (August 6-16) line-up.

This marks the distributor’s second acquisition of a Jude film after the Romanian filmmaker’s satirical Berlin Silver Bear winner Kontinental ’25.

Dracula is a Romania-Austria-Luxembourg co-production and will premiere in Locarno’s international competition. The comedy drama pays homage to the Dracula myth and takes place and filmed in Transylvania. Dracula features vampires, zombies, blood, sex, AI images, car chases, and Jude’s trademark darkly comedy sensibility.

The film is produced by Romania’s Saga Film, with Austria’s Nabis Filmgroup, Luxembourg’s Paul Thiltges Distribution, Brazil’s RT Features, Luxembourg’s Samsa Film, Switzerland’s Bord Cadre Films, the UK’s Sovereign Films, and Romania’s MicroFILM.

Jude’s previous work includes Golden Bear-winner Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn and Aferim!, which won the Silver Bear for best director. His Do Not Expect Too Much From The End Of The World opened last year after playing Locarno in 2023.

Jude said, “I am very happy and extremely grateful that Dracula will be brought to American audiences. One can say ‘brought back’, since this myth circled the world and the American cinema changed it so many times. I hope it is now time to see the myth wearing new clothes, made in the heart of real Transylvania. When I am asked who is Dracula in the film, I always reply that the film itself is Dracula. I would also add that this film is my humble homage to some great American underrated auteurs: Ed Wood, Andy Warhol and the Fluxus filmmakers.”

1-2 Special negotiated the deal with Luxbox on behalf of the filmmakers with 1-2 Special.

Recent acquisitions by the company, which former Sideshow executive Jason Hellerstein launched in February, include Christian Petzold’s Directors’ Fortnight premiere Mirrors No. 3, and Simón Mesa Soto’s Un Certain Regard jury prize winner A Poet.

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