With the enormous success of the Twilight series, vampires are arguably as hot as they’ve ever been. And as the progeny of a famous filmmaking tandem, actor-director John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands, Xan Cassavetes has a ready-made stamp of auteur authenticity. Her narrative feature debut as writer-director, however, is far from some shrewd, market-strike genre capitalization. An artfully muted exploration of amorous longing and existential crisis, Kiss of the Damned, which premiered at the SXSW Festival, hits theaters this week following a VOD bow. In it, lonely vampire Djuna (Josephine de la Baume) gives in to the advances of human screenwriter Paolo (Milo Ventimiglia), and bites him, but soon has to contend with a series of expanding consequences following the unexpected arrival of her troublemaking sister, Mimi (Roxanne Mesquida). Recently, I spoke one-on-one with Cassavetes, about the enduring nature of vampire stories and the origins of her unique name. The conversation is excerpted over at Yahoo Movies, so click here for the engaging read.