She Is Conann
Six incarnations of Conann, each killed by her future self.
She Is Conann is a 2023 action fantasy film written and directed by Bertrand Mandico. It reimagines Conan the Barbarian by tracking six versions of a character named Conann across different time periods, with each iteration killed by the one that comes after her. The film debuted on 19 May 2023 at the Cannes Film Festival as part of the Directors' Fortnight program, where it competed for the Queer Palm. It later screened out of competition at the Locarno Film Festival and was selected for Fantastic Fest and the Sitges Film Festival’s Official Fantàstic Competition. In France, UFO Distribution released it theatrically on 29 November 2023; Altered Innocence began a limited U.S. theatrical release on 2 February 2024.
The plot unfolds in the underworld, where a dog-headed guardian named Rainer guides the deceased Queen Conann through her past lives. Rainer has followed Conann throughout her existence, photographing her with a camera. Each memory shows Conann at ten-year intervals, with the older version killing and replacing the younger one. At 15, Conann is captured and enslaved by Sanja’s barbarian band after her mother’s death. At 25, she becomes a warrior. At 35, she works as a stuntwoman in the Bronx in 1998, with Sanja as her lover. At 45, she lives in a dystopian future. At 55, she is a wealthy arts patron who gathers artists and offers them her fortune if they consume her body after her death, hoping they will grant her immortality through their work. The story then returns to the dead Queen Conann in the underworld.
Mandico developed the project alongside a theatrical work after the Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers asked him to devise a show about filmmaking. He proposed a female version of Conan the Barbarian and later wrote the feature-film screenplay separately. He cited research into Celtic mythology, where he found a figure named Conann and fantastical dog-headed creatures that echoed ideas for Rainer. He also named Max Ophüls’s *Lola Montès* as a major influence. The film is part of a cycle originally conceived as a live stage production called *The Deviant Comedy*. When the COVID-19 pandemic halted live theatre, Mandico had the stage work filmed on 16 mm film. Cinematographer Nicolas Eveilleau, who had been first assistant camera on Mandico’s *The Wild Boys* and *After Blue*, served as cinematographer here.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Bertrand Mandico
- Producer
- Gilles Chanial / Emmanuel Chaumet / Avi Amar / Antoine Garnier / Olivier Dubois
- Starring
- Elina Löwensohn / Christa Théret / Julia Riedler / Claire Duburcq / Sandra Parfait / Agata Buzek / Nathalie Richard / Françoise Brion
- Music
- Pierre Desprats
- Cinematography
- Nicolas Eveilleau
- Editing
- Laure Saint-Marc
- Studio
- Les Films Fauves / Ecce Films / Floréal Films / Novak Prod / Orphée Films / Nanterre-Amandiers
- Distributor
- UFO Distribution (France) / Altered Innocence (North America)
- Released
- 19 May 2023 · Cannes · 2023 · 11 · 29 · France · 2024 · 2 · 2 · United States
- Runtime
- 105 minutes
- Country
- France / Belgium / Luxembourg
- Language
- French / English / German
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
In the underworld, Rainer, a dog-headed guardian, guides the dead Queen Conann through her previous lives. Rainer has followed Conann throughout her life, photographing her with a camera. Conann appears at ten-year intervals, with each new incarnation killing and replacing her younger self. At 15, Conann is captured and enslaved by Sanja and her band of barbarians after her mother is killed. At 25, she becomes a warrior. At 35, Conann lives in the Bronx in 1998, where she works as a stuntwoman and Sanja is her lover. At 45, she lives in a dystopian future. At 55, Conann is a wealthy patron of the arts. The 55-year-old Conann gathers a group of artists and offers them her fortune on the condition that they consume her body after her death, expecting them to grant her immortality through their work. The story then returns to the dead Queen Conann in the underworld.
Reader's Guide
She Is Conann is significant as a reimagining of Conan the Barbarian through a female lens, exploring themes of identity, mortality, and artistic legacy across multiple eras. The film was developed alongside a theatrical work after the Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers asked Mandico to devise a show about the making of a film. Mandico cited Max Ophüls's Lola Montès as a major influence. The film was shot entirely in Luxembourg at a former industrial site converted into a film studio, with more than 60 Luxembourg technicians and artists involved. Cinematographer Nicolas Eveilleau used an Aaton Penelope camera with two-perf 35 mm and Kodak 5219 500T film stock, creating optical effects in-camera without post-production visual effects. The film premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight program and was in competition for the Queer Palm. It received an 85% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 74, indicating generally favorable reviews. Critics praised its clear, propulsive story arc and its hostility to realism, likening it to a French Symbolist poem.
Did You Know?
- The film was shot entirely in Luxembourg at the former ARBED industrial site in Esch-Schifflange, converted into a film studio.
- No post-production visual effects were used; rear projection, filters, overlays, and other optical effects were created during filming.
- The film had its world premiere in the Directors' Fortnight program at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2023.
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