A pair of legends are uniting for a Berlinale 2026 premiere. Isabelle Huppert stars in the first narrative feature in quite some time from German director Ulrike Ottinger (Ticket of No Return, Freak Orlando). The Blood Countess, co-written by Ottinger and The Piano Teacher author Elfriede Jelinek, is inspired by the 16th-century Hungarian serial killer Elizabeth Báthory. Ahead of the world premiere at Berlinale, we’re pleased to debut the striking first poster.
Here’s the synopsis: “Decades after her mysterious disappearance, the Blood Countess re-emerges in modern-day Vienna where she reunites with her devoted underling, Hermine, to track down a dangerous book with the power to destroy all evil – including all vampires such as themselves. The duo embark on a scavenger hunt through the city’s magnificent historic sites, and conscript the countess’s melancholic nephew – a vegetarian vampire named Rudi Bubi – and his psychotherapist as they expand their search to Bohemia. Meanwhile, a pair of vampirologists and a police inspector remain hot on their trail … Filmmaker and visual artist Ulrike Ottinger reinterprets the vampire myth as a sumptuous adventure tale full of morbid black comedy.”
Also starring Birgit Minichmayr, Thomas Schubert, Lars Eidinger, and André Jung, see the exclusive poster below, designed by Midnight Marauder.
