Learning to Breathe, directed by London Film Academy’s longtime directing tutor Dan Turner, has recently landed on Disney+. The romantic drama follows the courtship and troubles of a couple and was set and partly filmed on the island of Tobago.
Working with LFA students
Learning to Breathe also shot several sequences in London, on which numerous LFA BA (Hons) Filmmaking students worked as runners on set. Credited LFA students include Victoria Leva, Ari Rissotti, Eric Angelo Yuhico, Karim Naguib, and Karolina Lewszyk. Dan deliberately afforded students this opportunity, having been impressed with them on set throughout the academic year prior to filming.
Dan shared:
While Dan was confident in their talents, he was also pleased to see firsthand how dedicated they were to the project from minute one:
Finding a new audience
With Learning to Breathe’s launch on Disney+, Dan is excited for new viewers to connect with Noah and Katrina’s story. This new lease of life for the film is emblematic of the current age of distribution and streaming, something that Dan has noticed in recent years:
He adds that Learning to Breathe offers a more nuanced look at the formation and dissolution of relationships, an element he emphasised while writing the screenplay:
Filming reflections
As Dan looks back on the film after nearly a decade, he’s conscious of the similarities between the role of a director and that of an educator. Whether it’s guiding students through their first day in LFA’s studios or helping his cast and crew grapple with mosquitos and mud on the beaches of Tobago, Dan finds common ground in both:
Dan has shaped the careers of countless filmmakers that have come through LFA during his time here, and one key piece of advice remains central to his teaching:
Learning to Breathe is available to watch on Disney+ now.