Breath taking film BREATHING is now online – Watch Full Film here!

SAFETY WARNING – DANGEROUS STUNT – DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME

"BREATHING" Film by Shailla Quadra

I had no funds to make this movie, just the lots of ideas and the fire to make them happen, so inspired by Robert Rodriguez book “Rebel Without a Crew” in which he mentions that he would look around at what he had and make a movie using those elements, I looked around, I had a bath tub, always had good resistance in the water and to add to the story, lots of anger and pain watching some very sad
events happening in the world.

I’ve always been fascinated with the unlimited number of things we can do in the water, how it feels like flying. From this water obsession I always wanted to play dead in the water. But any of the films I worked before as an actress required such a thing, so I came up with the idea for “BREATHING”, also inspired by some horrible events from around the world that really affected and disturbed me and bugged me.

The first version of “BREATHING” was an experimental challenge that I literally did all by myself for the underground film festival movement called KINO (for the branch in Sydney/Australia). After screening for many film industry friends and receiving a very good feedback, I got really motivated and decided that it would be worth to put some extra time and work into it and decided to gather a small crew and cast together and reshoot the entire film to fix some technical mistakes and to add some extra ideas I had to include in it, to make it even better to screen it in even more film festivals.

I thought about changing the title and making into a whole new film, but the essence and the main story is still the same from the original experiment, so it wouldn’t make sense to change title.

So “BREATHING” came to life again, bigger, bolder, hotter.

BREATHING was selected for “A Night of Horror International Film Festival”, in which it screened to a full house in a completely sold out session!

BREATHING was also screened at the “Newtown Flicks Film Festival” and “Vila do Conde Film Market”.

SHOOTING THE BATH SCENE

I wanted to deliver the best dead in the water scene in cinema history ever. From my water obsession and regular water experiments I knew I could reach that, but I knew that to go to the extent that I was willing to go, I would have to do it alone because anyone watching it live would freak out and probably interrupt me because they wouldn’t be familiar with what I’m able to do. I didn’t want to have the possibility of being interrupted, so I after filming all other scenes for the film, I told the team that this one I needed to do on my own.

I waited till everybody at home finished their doings for the day to make sure nobody would need to use that particular bathroom, which was the only one with a bathtub in the house and it was my grandmother in law bathroom (at the time I was living with the grand-in-laws helping to take care of them). She normally would to go to sleep very late night after watching TV till late, so waited till she finished dinner and was off far from the bathroom in the living room watching TV and asked her to use the other toilets if she needed to go because I needed to use her bathroom.

I got everything ready, then turned on the lights and camera, and there I went to my death scene!

I did a few takes to increase the floating dead time a little bit more in each one. I wasn’t wearing a watch and had no idea of the time, I was just holding my breath in the water until I couldn’t hold any more, then I would come out.

After every go I would ask myself if I could hold a little bit longer to make it even better.

Somewhere between takes grandma was knocking on door asking if was ok, I told her I was just having a bath for her not to worry.

After a few takes it was hard to breath even out of water because with the door and windows closed to block sound, and with the heat from the lights and hot water, the bathroom was very suffocating, but I knew I could do even better.

On the last take, I told myself, I really would not leave the water until my very last millisecond when I could not handle at all. By the end of it, when there was absolutely nothing left on me, I got my head out. I’m pretty sure that one more second I would be dead for real. I dragged myself to open the door so I could breathe because there was no more air in the bathroom.

I had no idea how any of it looked like because I wasn’t watching it and as per my own instruction had nobody watching it, so I only found out what I have achieved when watching everything in the computer screen for the edit.

It was freaky watching myself still dead for so long, kind of sickening.

I had a few takes of dead under water for over 1 minute, and the longest of all was 1:58 minutes.

I was happy, most of all, it make me sick watching it, it was agonizing, so I knew I would provide an interesting experience and reaction to the audience.

Later I had friends who are doctors that after watching the movie told me that it is very dangerous doing that and I could have got some serious health damage. Lucky I didn’t know that and lucky that I didn’t get any health damage, but anyway here is the warning, kids: don’t try this at home!

Now Turn off the lights and watch it on full screen for a complete breathless experience!

Enjoy, Like & Share with your friends!

Shailla

BREATHING SYNOPSIS

Elle lost her husband in a terrorist attack and now her challenge is to find a way to join him again somewhere else outside this world.

BREATHING CREDITS:

SHAILLA QUADRA

Writer, producer, director, editor, actress, composer

ANTHONY DI PLACIDO

Actor (Ethan)

NAY HTAT & MAREENE HANDS

DOP, Sound

MAREENE HANDS

DOP, Sound, Composer

SK

Final Cut Editor