Breathing Happy

I was in a short film that was programmed with 'Breathing Happy' at Chattanooga Film Festival, Filmquest, and Lausanne Underground Film & Music Festival and I finally had a chance to watch this on Hoopla.

This is a deeply personal film that touches on the generational curse of alcoholism and how hard that is to break and the destruction left behind.

There is a tremendous amount of skill going on here and I loved the manic cinematography/lighting/editing as the now sober lead character no longer has anything to numb his possible ADHD/schizophrenic tendencies.

This is everything I love about indie film!

I got the great pleasure of seeing this movie at FILMQUEST this year and was very impressed. Sure, it's not a big budget film by any means, but that didn't effect my enjoyment at all. The performances are all top top notch, the direction is fantastic, the shot choices are great, the editing is really strong. It's tremendously funny and touching and sad and challenging all at the same time. It goes to show how a creative storyteller can put something special together with heart and leave a lasting impression. Can't wait to see what Shane and company do next!

Now I need to write more to make my review long enough. :)

I haven't seen a movie move me in quite a while- Having a family member struggle with addiction- it hit home.

The entire cast was great! It was genuinely portrayed and raw.

Dylan Bradley- (Shane Brady)I loathed you, then felt sorry for you, I cried for and with you. You made me understand some of an addicts pain.

Briana Bradley- (Brittney Escalante) sister you hit a homerun with your portrayal in your sister/addict relationship and daughter/family relationship. You were authentic and spectacular-

Again the cast was great- everyone was genuine in their rolls.

I didn't expect to cry- yet I did. I'll watch again, this time with Kleenex in tow.

I saw this at FilmQuest 2022 it was hands down my personal favorite film of the fest. It's heartbreaking, but heartwarming, it's weird, but so simple, it's a little scary, but also so so funny. Great cinema doesn't need a huge budget and a huge cast -- just a great script, great acting and some filmmaking magic. Highly recommend this one!

The film deals with addiction and family and how those two intersect and bump into each other so often, and yes those topics and intersections can sometimes be triggering, but this film has a lot of honesty wrapped in some absurd and hilarious mind-warps and you are gonna love the film, and never look at the doors in your house the same way again!

I wasn't massively convinced I'd enjoy this film going into the showing. My suspicion was that it would be yet another examination of addiction, another 'messy' life, another selfish protagonist who was horrible to all other humans but for whom I was supposed to feel something other than annoyance (lots of those stories around at the minute, some fantastic, some properly terrible).

But shame on me for doubting, because it was excellent. And the fact that this sort of story is so hard to tell makes it even more laudable. The script strayed into brilliantly off-beat and strange territory where others would have become maudlin. A brilliant performance from Brady - in a role that in other hands could result in a very unlikeable character - kept me invested. There are weirdly funny moments followed by bits where I wanted to cry my eyes out. Beautiful cinematography from Zissimopulos never lets up, keeping us on a relentless, moving, skewed ride through the past and present of the characters. Totally surreal and yet believable.

The thing that sealed it for me was reaction from the audience in the cinema, which will stay with me for a long time. Most looked like they'd just been punched in the gut - in the best way.