Archive of films My Life without Air / Moj život bez zraka
Croatia
2017, 72 min
Section:
Documentary Films - Competition
Year: 2017
The most important moments in the life of Goran, a Croatian free diving record-holder, take place exclusively under water. This portrait of an extreme athlete features intentional dramatic minimalism in order to guide the viewer toward a shared physical experience of performances that push the boundaries of what is humanly possible. Between each inhalation and exhalation we experience an endless emotional fall into the depths of the deep blue sea.
Synopsis
The most important moments in the life of Goran, a Croatian free diving record-holder, take place exclusively under water. And because they are associated more with quiet and stoic calm than with drama, the debuting director chose tempered action as her instrument as well. Employing long takes, she captures the all-pervasive stillness of the champion’s daily life, whether in his attempts to break the world breath-holding record, his unimaginably deep dives in the open ocean, regular medical checkups, or in entirely banal activities. These extreme performances, pushing the limits of what is humanly possible, defy what the audience deems rational. After each of Goran’s breaths, we thus succumb to the shared physical experience of his condition, until faced with a sudden emotional fall into the depths of the deep blue sea, where up is indistinguishable from down. The border then blurs between unconsciousness induced by a lack of oxygen and the irrevocable violation of human possibilities; all that follows is numbness in limbo. And then we can finally exhale.
Martin Horyna
About the director

Bojana Burnać (b. 1981, Sisak, Croatia, Yugoslavia) graduated as a director of photography from Zagreb’s Academy of Dramatic Arts. She has lensed a number of dramatic, documentary, and experimental movies, both shorts and features. The subject of her directing debut My Life without Air is very close to her heart: Not only is she a free diver, advanced scuba rescue diver, ice diver, and cave diver, she is also a speleologist and solo mountaineer.
Contacts
Restart
Prilaz Gjure Dezelica 74, 10000, Zagreb
Croatia
Tel: +38 515 573 860
Fax: +38 515 573 860
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.restarted.hr
About the film
Color, DCP
European premiere
Section: | Documentary Films - Competition |
---|---|
Director: | Bojana Burnać |
Screenplay: | Bojana Burnać |
Dir. of Photography: | Bojana Burnać |
Editor: | Jelena Maksimović |
Producer: | Oliver Sertić |
Production: | Restart |
Contact: | Restart |
Guests

Bojana Burnać
Director of Photography, Film Director

Oliver Sertić
Distributor, Producer