Bertrand Mandico’s ‘Conann’ made waves when it premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. The sci-fi fantasy adventure was initially celebrated as an “immensely diabolical and gory cult masterpiece,” among other things. However, others wondered what they had just seen and still others noted that it would probably take a second or even third viewing to understand what was going on. So far, “Conann” has only screened at festivals outside its country of origin, France (in Germany at the Fantasy Film Festival in fall 2023), so repeat viewings have been difficult.
But Regular operation begins now – with a theatrical release in North America. The film can be seen there from February 2, 2024 as ‘She is Conann’ in selected cinemas. The official announcement already makes it clear that the free remake of Robert E. Howard’s legendary fantasy classic “Conan” differs significantly from the Arnold Schwarzenegger version “Conan, the Barbarian”.
“In a barbaric fantasy sci-fi journey through time, the sword-and-sorcery mythology is bent, broken and gendered by master visionary Bertrand Mandico in his epic third feature film. “Six lives, six eras and six deaths mark Conann’s poetic journey through various incarnations and lesbian loves,” reads the official synopsis from the American theater distributor.
This is “Conann”
What exactly ‘Conann’ is about is difficult to summarize, even beyond this very abstract synopsis. A description that goes into a little more detail about the content: Hellhound Rainer (Elina Löwensohn) reports on the six lives of Conann (Christa Théret): The warrior is killed again and again by her own future – through the eras, myths and centuries. It all starts with her childhood as a slave to the sadistic Sanja (Julia Riedler) and her barbarian horde – and it all ends at the heights of cruelty at the gates of our world…
Hopefully everyone who missed the trip to the Fantasy Filmfest will find out in time how exactly this all works in Germany. There is no word yet on a local release datebut the US theatrical release is a good indication that the film’s festival run is over and it will now be gradually released in cinemas or home theaters around the rest of the world.