From Omeleto.
A young girl lives on an island.
TWO BREATHS is used with permission from Kateryna Kurganska. Learn more at https://instagram.com/katyakurganska.
Ava is a young girl who lives on a beautiful island with her grandfather, who teaches her about the importance of nature and its island spirits, particularly one called Two Breaths, a powerful manta ray. But when the island undergoes a tactical nuclear test, Ava’s home is evacuated.
When the island evacuation goes wrong and her grandfather passes, Ava is left behind. Unwilling to leave her dying home, she lives on her own, accompanied only by her plush toy Mr. Fish. But when she nearly drowns, she meets a real manta ray that becomes her emotional companion and guide. When the government sweeps the islands, Ava finally faces the truth of the dying paradise she calls home.
Directed and written by Kateryna Kurganska, this powerful, ambitious short adventure-drama is suffused with a hushed, profound reverence for nature. This reverence is in the frankly gorgeous cinematography capturing the lush Hawaiian setting, as well as the haunting, gorgeous musical score and the calm wisdom that the grandfather imparts to Ava. And it’s interwoven into Ava’s central emotional conflict, navigating a transition she doesn’t want to make. Ava must leave the home and island she loves with all her heart, a love that deepens with her friendship with the manta ray after she is left behind.
The storytelling eschews linearity, weaving past and present as Ava herself navigates a difficult existence on her own while remembering her loving grandfather, whose words help guide her. Much of the background — the nuclear tests, the displacement, the protests — is woven into the writing, via audio memories or backstory. Instead, the film’s present tense is focused on the island, Ava and her relationships, particularly with her grandfather and then with the manta ray she meets in the waters.
There is an innocent charm, both in young performer Maia Ann Pu’uwai’s beautifully natural performance and in her relationship with her grandfather, played with great warmth and conviction by actor Romeo Garcia. But the tenor of the film is also mournful for the loss of beauty and home that Ava faces and the difficult changes she must accept. But with the help of her unlikely friend, she finds the bravery and hope she needs to move forward.
Moving, visually stunning and gently thought-provoking, TWO BREATHS is a love letter to nature, belonging and home. There is sadness in it, with the ecological devastation and displacement and the death of a beloved family member. But the most poignant loss is how Ava’s love for the island and its magic grows with her friendship with the manta ray — but just as she discovers this sense of enchantment, she must leave and likely never return. There is hope, though, that the values and spirit live on with Ava, who will carry them forward into the future.
