Slow down, focus on your breath.

Breathe

Award-winning Manchester Camerata takes you on a beautiful, intimate and reflective cinematic experience.

Set in the stunning Victoria Baths in Manchester, Breathe is an orchestral work made especially for the screen. Working with movement artists, the film focuses on the tranquillity in movement guiding Camerata musicians together for a profound and euphoric final scene.

The film invites you to immerse yourself in meditative sounds and stunning visual landscapes, to pause and reflect, breaking from the fast-paced world we live in today, holding you in a space of wellbeing and mindfulness.

Featuring newly commissioned music from the critically acclaimed composer Daniel Kidane, poet Roma Havers and music creator Ben Nobuto, surrender yourself to this stunning short film.

Breathe premiered in 2022 at Sheringham Little Theatre. The film has been screened across the UK both as cinema screening events and as part of a live performance with Manchester Camerata.

Featured music:

Daniel Kidane - Breathe (new commission)

Daniel Kidane - Be Still

Jessie Montgomery - Starburst

Arvo Pärt - Fratres

Shiva Feshareki - Venus/Zohreh

Interludes and narrative created by Ben Nobuto and Roma Havers

Cast:

Manchester Camerata

Movement artists from Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts

Breathe includes a short documentary which introduces the audience to the creative team, concepts and community collaboration behind the film.

The Breathe Story blog also takes a behind the scenes look at producing the film and the creative process.

Running Time: 57 minutes

BBFC Classification: U

Format: DCP or Blu Ray

Contact: screenings@orchestraslive.org.uk

A preview link is available on request.

Breathe is produced by Orchestras Live in association with Manchester Camerata and River Rea Films.

Directors: Mathew Beckett
Lee O’Connell
(River Rea Films)

Composer: Daniel Kidane

Poet: Roma Havers

Music Creator: Ben Nobuto

Project Management:
Manchester Camerata
Orchestras Live

The Breathe Story

Breathe is the first artistic production from our Create Space strand. Devised by now retired Senior Creative Producer Jan Ford, Create Space aims to blend the mediums of orchestral music, film and community creation to create new orchestral work for the screen. This will enable a broader range of inspiring orchestral experiences to reach audiences across the country.

The first pilot Create Space project has worked with our partners at Darlington Hippodrome, Redcar & Cleveland Council, Sheringham Little Theatre and Wiltshire Music Centre as well as Manchester Camerata’s Music Café in Gorton. Partners asked groups in their community to respond to the theme of togetherness and share their creative work and thoughts with the artistic team. We received poetry, lyrics, a range of artwork, and audio and video recordings of their discussions.

Over three creative workshops, the artistic team explored the content created by our communities and their own responses to this. Through these creative discussions, they devised the concept and programme for the new film.

• Composer Daniel Kidane was commissioned to write a new piece, Breathe, which gave the film its title.

• Music creator Ben Nobuto and poet Roma Havers collaborated to create a series of interludes that bring the communities’ words and voices into the film.
• Director Mathew Beckett created the visual concepts/narrative for the film.

The film itself was recorded on location at Victoria Baths in Manchester by River Rea Films with audio recorded by Apple & Biscuit Recordings. A beautiful and interesting gem of a building, the Victoria Baths was a vibrant space with swimming pools and Turkish Baths. Locals led a campaign against its closure in 1993 and continued to work to restore the building, which now hosts a range of events as an arts venue as restoration continues. It was the perfect location for our film, bringing the artists together in a community space with a long history of deep connection to its community to create a film exploring the concept of togetherness.

Produced by Orchestras Live in association with Manchester Camerata and River Rea Films.

In partnership with Darlington Hippodrome, Redcar and Cleveland Council, Sheringham Little Theatre, Wiltshire Music Centre.

We are grateful for support from Arts Council England and the Weston Culture Fund.