The documentary Breathless tackles one of the most disturbing patterns in drug use in Queensland, Australia today: the inhaling of household products like paint and glue. Through the voices of a grieving mother, a homeless man, a street kid and many others, Breathless introduces the world to the homeless, the marginalised, the abused and the addicted living in South East Queensland.

With honesty and compassion, Breathless gives the viewer access to the thoughts and feelings of those who are deeply affected by this dangerous addiction. While these stories contain sadness and heartache, by the end of this film, we hope that the viewer will also have gained sense of hope and admiration for the strength of our subjects. Breathless is a moving story that offers an interesting and profound insight into this dark world.

** Purchase Breathless on DVD **

EXCERPTS FROM THE FILM:

"A lot of people walk down the street and they don't wanna see...people on the street... because it screws up their perfect reality." - Peta

"There's gotta be some deep wounds, some deep psychological wounds for these kids to be coming down here and try to block it all out..." - Rivers

"...when she was looking to have a sniff, she was the worst kid you could ever imagine." - Kathy Harrsion

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

Jason Bray, Director, on Breathless: My debut film is a 26 minute documentary on the lives of those who are affected by the terrible habit of inhaling household substances such as paint and glue in South East Queensland. While interviewing a number of street kids and social workers the film centres on Cathy Harrison, a mother who lost her 17 year old daughter, Leeanne, while sniffing paint in the local park.

About the Director: Ever since I left home and high school in 1990, my passion has been to learn more about the people that I share this world with. From the country football fields in Western Queensland to the city slums of Manila in the Philippines, I have met people of all walks of life and heard incredible stories of both strength and weakness, failure and success. I have came to the conclusion that these stories need to be told to a broader audience. For humanity to remain compassionate and merciful, it needs to know what is happening in the hearts of those around them – near and far.

When not working on docos, Jason is a youth worker at the Centenary Uniting Church in Middle Park (Brisbane), Queensland, Australia.

VIEW THE TRAILER:

Below is the 2 minute trailer/intro to the film:

SCREENING INFO:

19th Annual INTERNATIONAL DRUGS AND HARM REDUCTION FILM FESTIVAL
(MAY 11 - 15, 2008 in Barcelona, Spain)

Breathless has been invited and accepted into this year's IHRA Film Festival. This is our first film festival acceptance and we are thrilled that Breathless was invited to submit.

BREATHLESS PREMIERE: 20 February, 2006

The premiere of Breathless took place at the Palace Centro theatre in New Farm, Brisbane.

The film was attended by the honourable Ms Quentin Bryce, Governor of Queensland (see the transcript of her speech). It was well received by a cross-section of professionals in social assistance industries and other areas related to improving the lives of the many homeless and substance-abuse victims throughout Queensland and Australia.

Through this viewing, we were pleased to have met some influential guests who will hopefully help us to continue building films about important issues such as chroming. If you would like to know how you can help or if you have a project you'd like to get off the ground, please contact us here at Red Earth.

CREDITS:

JASON BRAY FILMS presents BREATHLESS
in association with RED EARTH FILM PRODUCTIONS PTY LTD
music by RIVERS and GRAHAM HOBSON   edited by SKEV MAVROS   associate producer DAVE SCOTNEY MIKE CROWHURST  director of photography JONATHAN SCARLETT   assistant director FABIANNE RAMOS   executive producers MICHAEL JEFFREY REV. BRUCE WARREN   producer JASON BRAY   written and directed by JASON BRAY featuring THE HARRISONS (KATHY, SHONTAY, LEEANNE and ELGAR)   PETA   RIVERS   and CHRIS COHEN

CUSTOMER COMMENTS:

"I utilised the Breathless DVD for both professional and academic purposes. I feel it is an extremely useful tool for practitioners in training, especially those who have not yet experienced the practical side of their chosen field." - S.A., Bundaberg, QLD

"This is a great documentary. We attended the launch which was filled with positive energy despite the grim subject matter. It is often shown to young people to demonstrate real problems of VSM." - youth centre, QLD

"I find this a very useful product. I make it available to my volunteers to show chroming in real life. I'm sure my employer would be interested in contributing to any similar projects regarding any drug and alcohol-related topics" - government drug and alcohol centre, Brisbane, QLD

"The film was a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable insight into the individual/social influences and of youth culture in general. The personal stories of loss and survival were particularly moving and enabled the viewer to better understand chroming and addiction (10 stars)" - J.M., Brisbane, QLD

PURCHASE BREATHLESS ON DVD:

We are pleased to be able to offer the Breathless DVD for sales via our distributor VEA, a leader in educational resources in Australia and New Zealand. Please see their website for payment details and to obtain the accompanying Teachers Notes as well. DVDs are in region-free PAL format. For international enquiries, please contact us.

VISIT VEA's WEBSITE
(click on 'Australia' under
the HEALTH CARE tab)

** This film is exempt from Australian film and video classification.
This is a resource designed for social workers and is to be used as a tool for training and education **

USEFUL LINKS:

(Please see our website Terms regarding the external links
provided before you use them)

-- Governor Quentin Bryce's opening speech at Breathless launch --
-- Wikipedia listing and description for "Inhalant" --
-- Breathless featured on ABC TV's Stateline program (transcript) --
-- Uniting Church's website article and newspaper article (PDF) --
-- Breathless will appear at International Drugs and Harm Reduction Film Festival --
-- Red Earth's YouTube webpage --