What is BREATHE?

BREATHE is a 20-minute intimate drama BREATHE is a drama about Amira, a young woman who has made peace with being unreachable, until someone reaches her anyway.

This is not a film about anxiety being fixed. It is a film about what it feels like to carry it, and the small, quiet moments of courage that make it possible to keep going.

MAKE IT MATTER:

Well, anxiety is the most common mental health condition in America. And yet, most people who live with it have never seen it portrayed the way it actually feels. Not as a dramatic breakdown, not as a character quirk, but as the relentless, invisible work of moving through a world that never quite quiets down.

We're making BREATHE to show what it actually feels like to live inside anxiety, and what it costs, quietly, every day. And we need you to help us get it there.

Essential facts you need to understand why this film matters:

1. 40 million Americans, nearly 20% of the population, live with an anxiety disorder. It is the most common mental health condition in the country. Children's Health Council
2. Despite that, anxiety is chronically misrepresented on screen: reduced to panic attacks, punchlines, or plot devices rather than the lived, daily experience it actually is.
3. Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only 36.9% of those who have them receive treatment. Most people carry it alone, in silence, while appearing completely fine. Children's Health Council
4. Women are twice as likely as men to be affected by anxiety disorders. BREATHE puts that experience at the center of the screen, where it belongs. Anxiety and Depression Association of America
5. 36% of people with social anxiety disorder experience symptoms for 10 or more years before seeking help. A decade of carrying something invisible, often because they never saw it reflected anywhere. LAOP Center
6. About 1 in 3 Americans will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lifetime. This is not a niche story. This is the story of people you know. South Denver Therapy
7. Among adults with any anxiety disorder, nearly 1 in 4 experience serious impairment, meaning their ability to work, connect, and function is significantly affected. BREATHE is about what that actually looks like from the inside. South Denver Therapy

BREATHE is about the gap between being seen and being understood. It is about the exhaustion of carrying something invisible. And it is about the quiet, improbable moment when someone finally closes that distance.

What we are building is not just a film. It is a resource. A conversation starter. A tool for therapists, advocates, and communities.

MAKE YOUR MARK FELT:

Our goal is to reach as many people as possible. Not just viewers, but the 40 million Americans who will recognize themselves in Amira, and the people who love them who will finally understand what they've been trying to say.

MAKE ROOM AND SHARE THIS CAMPAIGN:

"Did you know that most people with anxiety have never seen their experience honestly reflected on screen? BREATHE is changing that, and this campaign is how it gets made. Check out BREATHE at breathethefilm.com" #breathethefilm #crowdfunding #indiefilm Tag @breathethefilm on Instagram and TikTok.

MAKE A SPLASH

Every contribution goes directly toward production: cast, crew, specialized underwater equipment, and the community screening events that make BREATHE more than a film. We have posters, exclusive BTS content, private screenings, and more, all designed around the world of the film.

MAKE WAVES

Every screening is an opportunity to put something useful in front of people who need it. A film like this, followed by an honest conversation, can change how someone sees themselves, or the person they love.

Do you have a local screening venue, a mental health organization, or a community group who should see this film? Contact us at breathethefilm.com.

MAKE RIPPLES

BREATHE is a tool for mental health advocates, therapists, educators, and community leaders. Every screening is a chance to bring people together around a conversation that most of us have never known how to start.

Are there partners, advocates, or mental health organizations you could connect us with for a post-screening panel?

ABOUT THE WRITER/DIRECTOR MAKING THIS FILM:

Brian Hoffman is a New York-based filmmaker and marketing executive whose entire career has been shaped by the power of storytelling and its ability to create genuine connection between people. He is a husband and a father of four. As someone who has carried anxiety quietly for years, he thinks about it not just for himself but for his children, determined that they never feel as alone in it as he sometimes did. That instinct, to create understanding where there was none, is at the heart of BREATHE.

In 2026, he was selected as an Emerging Filmmaker by the American Pavilion Showcase at the Cannes International Film Festival. BREATHE is his second film, and his most personal. His debut short film, A Matter of Time, won Best Actress at the NY Shorts International Film Festival and Best Drama at the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival.