Wellington has been officially declared 'Vampire Friendly' ahead of the June 19 release of vampire mockumentary, 'What We Do In The Shadows'.

The city's Hollywood-style sign has had the W changed to a red V, renaming the city Vellington.

The film by director Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) follows a group of vampires who flat together in Wellington.

Uh-oh...WHAT HAVE THOSE FOREIGN VAMPIRES GONE AND DONE NOW?? RT @DeliciousNecks #VELLINGTON #VAMPIRES #RULE pic.twitter.com/zW3KszbVkv

— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) June 9, 2014

"Uh-oh...WHAT HAVE THOSE FOREIGN VAMPIRES GONE AND DONE NOW?? RT @DeliciousNecks #VELLINGTON #VAMPIRES #RULE," Waititi tweeted.

Vampires Vladislav the Poker (Clement) and Viago von Blitzenberg (Waititi) unveiled the hillside sign in Wellington tonight.

"Ve think this idea is vonderful and ve applaud Vellington for opening its doors to the Vampire community," Viago drooled. "Ve can't promise not to eat anyone but ve vill do our best."

Vellington Mayor, Celia Vade-Brown, said the capital - which is rumoured to have a zombie apocalypse plan - was known as a broad-minded city.

Vlad and I doing a few quick interviews pic.twitter.com/rzfn8OR5Qi

— WhatWeDoInTheShadows (@DeliciousNecks) June 9, 2014

"Vellington's perfectly suited to be the vampire capital, it's another example of our city getting behind the film industry while making the most of the chance to showcase our home to the Vorld."

The installation of the 'Vellington' sign coincides with the launch of the 'Vampire's Guide to Vellington' tourism promotion, fronted by Viago, which was released online this afternoon. The city's website has also been transformed into VellingtonNZ.com to support the film's release.

'What We Do in the Shadows' has received rave reviews at international film festivals across the world including critical acclaim at the Sundance, Berlinale and SXSW film festivals. The official trailer has over half a million views on YouTube.

Video

Waititi and Clement co-wrote, co-directed and co-star in the 85-minute film alongside a host of their New Zealand comedy peers including, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Jonny Brugh, Jackie Van Beek and Rhys Darby (also of Flight of the Conchords fame).

Despite the capital city promotion, What We Do in The Shadows' is getting its New Zealand premiere in Auckland on Friday the 13th of June 13, before the vampires head south to the capital for the Wellington premiere at The Embassy Theatre on June 18.

The film is due for release in Australia, the UK and USA before the end of the year.

See Thursday's TimeOut for an extended interview with Clement and Waititi about how the film was the product of their friendship.

Watch the trailer below:

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- APNZ