The dramatic short film Breathe will make it's premiere this Saturday (April 21) at the Louisiana International Film Festival in Baton Rouge. Louisiana native Shanna Forrestall wrote the film, which she also produced and stars in, as a means of dealing with personal grief. Forrestall says of the film, “Breathe was born in pain and ends with the triumph of learning to let it go, and I hope it will impact our audiences the way it has our devoted and hardworking cast and crew. I look forward to sharing this story with the world.”
I had the opportunity to screen Breathe, and it is a wonderful and affecting film. In the short we see a woman (Forrestall) being followed by a man (New Orleans actor Escalante Lundy) everywhere she goes. To say more would be giving too much away. I will say that Breathe is shrewdly and confidently directed by Michael Liu, playing it seemingly as a thriller and keeping us completely engaged as we put the pieces of this cinematic puzzle together. The music score by Carlos Garza along with the intercutting of Jennifer Awad's beautiful painting give this heartbreaking film a lyrical power.
Breathe will play on Saturday, April 21 in a block of Louisiana Live Action Shorts beginning at 9:30 AM at the Cinemark Theater (10000 Perkins Rowe, #125 Baton Rouge, LA 70810). For more info on the Louisiana International Film Festival visit LIFF2018.com.
