by Whitney Larkins for Winter Film Festival
See the documentary film Breathe (Aliento) on February 21 @3:00PM at REGAL Union Square (850 Broadway) as part of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. Tickets now on sale!
David, a Paralympic swimmer on the verge of quitting, finds in Alberto—his new coach—the push he needs to keep going. Together they achieve the dream of qualifying for Tokyo 2020, a milestone in David’s career. Now, with Paris 2024 on the horizon, they face a demanding year of training and competitions. Despite limited funding and constraints, their enthusiasm never fades. ALIENTO immerses us in the journey of two friends, where the real victory isn’t the medal, but the road they travel together toward the world’s greatest sporting event. Even though these athletes have various levels of abilities, in the end, they are learning about friendship and learning together.
Winter Film Festival’s Whitney Larkins recently spoke with director Eduardo Muñoz to discuss “Breathe”.
What was your life like before filmmaking? What has changed since then?
Eduardo Muñoz: I was a huge skateboarding enthusiast in the 1990s in Sevilla, Spain. I was always hanging out with other skateboarders. Eventually, I brought my family camera with me to these gatherings. I was inspired by director Spike Jones who, at the time, was filming BMX videos skateboarding, etc. His work like his short films and music videos inspired me.
What were some of the challenges of making this film that may not be apparent at first glance with the audience?
EM: Well, it took about a year to make this film and it was very low budget. In fact, it was a microbudget. We had great friends to help co-director José del Corral and me with the production. Getting the proper permits for our locations was also challenging, especially in Paris, France. The International Olympic Committee requires 10,000 Euro for 30-second segments of footage at any of their events. This includes paralympic events as well. Getting the filming rights in Madeira, Spain was also challenging. In some instances, you are allowed to film at various venues for social media publicity but for nothing else. We spent hours and hours trying to figure out how to get around these challenges, but we eventually came up with solutions.
Why did you make the decision to follow David instead of any other athlete? What was it about him that stood out and made him unique?
EM: David wasn’t shy at all. In fact, he was always cracking jokes with the crew and his fellow athletes. He was super open and talkative. He has a very engaging sense of humor about everything, including his own limitations in life. He was very open about everything. Our team initially did not know much about paralympics prior to meeting him, but we had a lot of curiosity about this particular subject and person. We learned that athletes with disabilities have various challenges behind the scenes as well. But, David says he wouldn’t change anything about himself and we wouldn’t want to change anything about him either.
In the film, David speaks of the “last 15” which speaks of the last 15 seconds of a race which are the hardest. This could also be a metaphor for life in some ways, right?
EM: Sure. Even though these athletes have various levels of abilities, in the end, they are learning about friendship and learning together. We see this develop in the relationship between David and his trainer Alberto. Their love, respect, and friendship for one another grows and becomes solid. They’re not actors. They are simply human beings.
Do you have any advice to share with new filmmakers who would be interested in this line of work?
EM: Be open for what’s coming. Filmmaking can be very unexpected. Be sure to get everything taken care of regarding permits and police authorization. Follow your intuition and make the best of it!
About Winter Film Festival
Winter Film Festival is an all-volunteer women and minority-run organization as part of Winter Film Awards Inc, a 501(c)3 organization founded in 2011 to celebrate emerging talent in local and international filmmaking.
The 14th Annual Winter Film Festival runs February 18-22 2026 includes a diverse mixture of animated films, documentaries, comedies, romances, dramas, horror films, music videos and web series of all lengths. Our five-day event is jam-packed with screenings and Q&A sessions at NYC’s REGAL Union Square, six Education sessions/workshops and a variety of filmmaker networking events all coming to a glittering close on February 22 with our red-carpet gala Awards Ceremony.
Winter Film Festival programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Promotional support provided by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment.
For more information about Winter Film Festival, visit WinterFilmFest.org
email us at info@winterfilmawards.com and visit us at Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
