GLOW: Iconic Swiss Diva Irene Staub

Gabriel Baur’s latest film GLOW
is about Swiss Icon Irene Staub, aka Lady Shiva – fierce feminist, fashion diva, freedom rebel, punk singer, and actor who charmed everyone from Catherine Deneuve to Felllini, Bowie and Jagger. She was also a LGBTQ cult figure who starred in Ulrike Ottinger's 1977 film Madame X, An Absolute Ruler.

Thanks to her aura and talent, many doors opened for Irene during Zürich's exuberant years between 1968 and the late 1980s. Discovered by a pioneer of Swiss fashion, she became a model and also pursued her dream of becoming a singer, in a legendary Zürich underground band. But Lady Shiva lived life in the fast lane; torn between the stress of success, a yearning for freedom, and self-destructive urges, she died far too young under circumstances that have never been fully explained.

GLOW revolves around the moving friendship of renown designer Ursula Rodel and her muse Irene Staub, telling of an irrepressible desire for freedom in all its beauty and destructive force, of a stirring friendship and love. Using never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with prominent contemporaries, Baur brings us back to a vibrant age of boundless possibilities, in which the sky seemed the only limit for people like Lady Shiva.

Reviews

"Visually powerful, Gabriel Baur tells in Glow of the life of one of the great icons of the turbulent era between 1968 and the late 1980s."
- David Sarasin, Tages-Anzeiger

"In her sometimes almost overwhelmingly beautiful film Glow, the Zurich director Gabriel Baur is consistently reversing the conventional life dramaturgy of Lady Shiva. In that sense, Glow is indeed not an explanatory documentary but a kind of mirror. Here is no tragic fate being traced, but marveled at contradictions and beauty."
- Michael Sennhauser, Radio SRF

"A prismatic look at Zürich’s 1970s-80s avant-garde, Glow brings the Swiss underground to new light. Centered on the enigmatic muse and model Irene Staub, the documentary draws a fascinating line between the worlds of cinema, fashion, and music while making a case for the charisma of the figure known as 'Lady Shiva.'" - Barlo Perry, ParisLA

"Baur's Glow dares to defy the typical biographical narrative. With expert vision the film meticulously peels back the layers of her life, delivering a story that's as comprehensive as it is unique...a beautifully crafted homage to a cultural powerhouse. Glow isn't just a peek into Irene's past; it's a wide-angle lens on the vibrant life of a woman who lived in the heart of a city in transition." - Chris Jones, Overly Honest Movie Reviews

Director Bio - Gabriel Baur

Gabriel Baur is a Director, Author and Producer. Her films and scripts include Cada Dia Historia (Every Day History), Die Bettkönigin (Queen of Bed) and Venus Boyz, a groundbreaking feature documentary that was a festival runner starting with Locarno Film Festival, Berlinale and Karlovy Vary, theatrically released internationally and has become a classic in its field. Current feature projects in development are Takotsubo with co-author Stéphane Mitchell and The Matrix Love. Gabriel Baur received national and international awards for her films, and is a member of the European Film Academy EFA and the Swiss Film Academy. Additionally she was Co-founder of ONIX Film and ONFEATURES Film. Vice-President of the Federation of European Screen Directors FERA from 2010-2014. Co-Founder and Co-President of the Swiss Women's Audiovisual Network SWAN till 2021. Presently she is living and working between Zurich and Lisbon.