Creature (film)

Khan’s creation for English National Ballet is filmed by Kapadia, and has an ambiguous intensity that should interest audiences beyond dance fans

By In Dance, Films 1 hour 27 min

Based on the acclaimed production, choreographed by and directed by Academy Award-winning director Asif Kapadia (Senna, Amy, The Warrior), Creature is a genre-busting collaboration that fuses film and contemporary dance.

Following English National Ballet's 2021 stage production, Creature (film) is a collaboration between Akram Khan, Asif Kapadia, and English National Ballet, produced by Uzma Hasan of Little House Productions.

It tells the tragic tale of an outsider's search for belonging, the insatiable desires of the powerful, and the enduring hope found in human connection and compassion. Inspired by Georg Büchner's seminal play Woyzeck, this film sees ENB dancers Jeffrey Cirio, Erina Takahashi and in leading roles.

In a dilapidated former Arctic research station, Creature (Jeffrey Cirio) is unknowingly enlisted by a military brigade into an experimental programme. Creature meets and falls in love with Marie (Erina Takahashi), a cleaner who shows him kindness and compassion; together they dream of escape. This vivid cinematic experience is a beautiful, tragic tale of an outsider's search for belonging, the insatiable desires of the powerful, and the enduring hope found in human connection and compassion.