‘Horrible Creature’ will screen as part of The Presidency of the Council of the European Union at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

Credits:
Director: Áine Stapleton.
Director of Photography: Will Humphris.
Performers: Michelle Boule, Céline Larrère, and Sarah Ryan.
Soundtrack: Ed Chivers and David Best.
Voiceover: Aenne Barr and Rebecca Warner.
Editor: José Miguel Jiménez.
Drone Pilot: Lukino Ramelli.
Costume: Ivan Moreno Bonica.
Producer and locations manager: Áine Stapleton.
Sound Mixing: Kevin Gleeson.

Programme note:
1915, James Joyce and Nora Barnacle travelled with their young children Giorgio and Lucia to Switzerland to escape the turmoil of World War I. Lucia later trained as a dancer and performed throughout Europe. Her career ended suddenly in the early 1930s. She was forced into psychiatric care and underwent treatment at various hospitals across Europe.

‘Horrible Creature’ is filmed at locations in Switzerland where Lucia spent time, including her primary school in Zurich, the Madonna del Sasso in Locarno, and a psychiatric hospital near Geneva.

Here, Lucia’s own writing, interpreted by a cast of international dance artists, conjures her world between 1915 and 1950. The film fearlessly explores her difficult family life, her unproven illness, and her undoubted talent.

'Horrible Creature' is funded by The Arts Council and The Irish Embassy in Switzerland. Supported by Dance Ireland, The James Joyce Centre Dublin, Arts & Disability Ireland, Ticino Film Commission, and FringeLab at Tiger Dublin Fringe.