‘Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity’ & ‘TRUE NORTH’ make Filmic Road Trip across Éire

From ‘Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity’ at Kerry International Film Festival in Killarney, to our special ‘Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity’ event featuring a reception and Q & A with our dream team of collaborators in Dublin’s Museum of Literature of Ireland, to award nominations for both ‘TRUE NORTH: Paud Mulrooney’s Irish-Canadian Adventures in Super 8’, (best documentary), and ‘Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity’ (best actor in a female role for Evanna Lynch), at Richard Harris International Film Festival in Limerick, it has been a busy week.

Happily we live to tell the tale, and share some pictures with you!

‘Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity’ started its national twirl in Killarney at Kerry International Film Festival 2019, in a programme called, appropriately enough,”New Narratives”, at St. Mary’s Church of the Sloes on Sunday October 20th.

St. Mary’s Church of the Sloes, Killarney, venue for ‘New Narratives’ at KIFF 2019.

Introduction to “New Narratives” at Kerry International Film Festival, St. Mary’s Church of the Sloes, Killarney.

Deirdre Mulrooney & Executive Producer Gretta O’Rourke

‘Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity’ screens at KIFF 2019, Sunday Oct 20th.

Then, back in the capital on Thursday, October 24th, the Museum of Literature of Ireland kindly hosted our ‘Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity’ Special Event. The evening featured a reception, screening and Q & A with our key creatives Megan Kennedy (choreographer); Claire Garvey (costume designer); Mella Travers (Large Format Photographer); Conor Linehan (composer), and myself, moderated by MoLI’s Director Simon O’Connor (a composer himself, and contributor to my Lucia Joyce radio documentary), for our supporters from 6.30pm.

MoLI Director Simon O’Connor introduces the evening

Deirdre Mulrooney introduces the film and dedicates the screening to the late Pat Laffan

Discussion with Creative Collaborators Conor Linehan, Deirdre Mulrooney, Mella Travers, Megan Kennedy & Claire Garvey, hosted by Simon O’Connor.

Evanna Lynch as Lucia Joyce in ‘Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity’ at MoLI

This was an epic event, in which our supporters were invited to peruse Claire Garvey’s costume sketches and the actual costume itself which was displayed on a mannequin, as well as Mella Travers’ large format camera and hand-developed photograph, in which we studiously emulated Berenice Abbott’s 1928 original image of Lucia Joyce in her self-designed silver fish costume.

Claire Garvey’s costume, after Lucia Joyce’s original 1928 design

Claire Garvey’s costume sketches; Mella Travers’ Large Format Camera & Photograph, after Berenice Abbott’s original 1928 photograph

The “Dream Team” conversation after the screening showcased the creative synergy between us all in our common goal to restore and pay tribute to Lucia Joyce, the artist and dancer at “full capacity”. What a fantastic night honouring Lucia Joyce in a wonderful venue dedicated to her father who said of Lucia to Karl Jung that she was “an innovator not yet understood”. Hopefully our film invites an understanding of Lucia Joyce’s unique creative genius which was, unfortunately for her, far ahead of its time.

Early the next morning (Friday, October 25th), I returned to collect our tray of glasses (kindly lent to us in the spirit of STEAM from UCD Neuroscience), and other items (oh, the glamour!), debris of the MoLI Special Event, before legging it down to Limerick where “TRUE NORTH: Paud Mulrooney’s Irish-Canadian Adventures in Super 8′ was screening in a programme called ‘For the Cause’ at 3.20pm, at the Belltable in the Richard Harris International Film Festival.

‘TRUE NORTH: Paud Mulrooney’s Irish-Canadian Adventures in Super 8’ in ‘For the Cause’ at Richard Harris International Film Festival 2019, Limerick at the Belltable

After ‘TRUE NORTH’, at RHIFF2019 with my O’Brien cousins Kevin, Mike, & David, & their Dad, my uncle Fred

I made it down in the nick of time, and really enjoyed the next couple of days of screenings, events, encounters with interesting filmie folk, and – lo and behold – being nominated for two awards! Thank-you RHIFF 2019!

Meeting fellow-filmmakers at RHIFF. Keith Farrell and yours truly at Belltable screenings.

Blue Sky Venue for ‘Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity’. The Commercial on Limerick’s Catherine Street, the street my mother (the other Executive Producer of Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity), grew up on.

Esteemed Limerick support from Garrett Nugent & his Mum Grainne; and Grainne’s parents, Sean and Mary O’Kelly at the ‘Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity’ screening on Sunday morning, October 27th!

Delighted that my UL colleagues Dr. Sabine Egger & Dr. Catherine Foley came to support ‘Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity’ on this sunny Sunday October morning at The Commercial

‘Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity’ was part of this well thought-through RHIFF2019 Programme

The nominations, and the glamorous black-tie awards ceremony on Sunday night a la the Oscars (which I hadn’t originally intended staying for) were the icing on the cake. I must say I feel very inspired and encouraged by all the positive feedback I have received for the work over the past week.

But first a bit of recovery is in order from that national screening marathon! A lot to catch up on! Thanks again to everyone who contributed and helped to make it all happen. To be continued…

Here are some bonus pix from the MoLI Special Event, changing the received narrative about Lucia Joyce, taken by our Executive Producer Supremo, Gretta O’Rourke, who flew up especially from Tralee, County Kerry for the event – sincere thanks Gretta and to all our supporters & believers!: