Strand Releasing has acquired 'The Blood Countess' for North America, ahead of its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest. Strand Releasing has acquired North American rights to Ulrike Ottinger’s “The Blood Countess,” the baroque black comedy starring Isabelle Huppert as the legendary Countess Elizabeth Báthory. The film, which world premiered in the Berlinale Special Gala section earlier this year, will make its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest on Sept. 17.
Strand is planning a theatrical release in spring 2027. The deal was negotiated by Jon Gerrans on behalf of Strand Releasing and Magnify Film Sales. Ottinger and look forward to working with Isabelle again on another film,” said Marcus Hu of Strand Releasing.
Strand has previously released several films starring Huppert, including Catherine Breillat’s “Abuse of Weakness,” Michael Haneke’s “Time of the Wolf” and Guillaume Nicloux’s “Valley of Love.” Inspired by the life and mythology surrounding Báthory, the 16th-century Hungarian aristocrat who became notorious in folklore as a serial killer, “The Blood Countess” sees Huppert’s character awaken from a centuries-long slumber and set out across Vienna with her devoted maid Hermine in search of a mysterious book capable of destroying her. The film was written by Ottinger with Elfriede Jelinek, the Nobel Prize-winning Austrian author of “The Piano Teacher,” and marks the culmination of a project the German filmmaker first conceived more than 25 years ago. Rather than approaching Báthory through conventional psychological realism, Ottinger conceived Huppert’s vampire as an imperious, almost mythic presence.
The cast is completed by Birgit Minichmayr, Lars Eidinger, Thomas Schubert, André Jung and Tom Neuwirth, better known as Conchita Wurst. Strand Releasing currently has Brydie O’Connor’s “Barbara Forever” and Gregg Araki’s 4K restoration of “Mysterious Skin” in release. Its upcoming slate also includes Mexico’s Oscar entry “On the Road,” directed by David Pablos.
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