Maria Bakalova and Rebekah Fortune Discuss Their “Love at First Scene” on Karlovy Vary’s “Learning to Breathe Under Water”

Learning to Breathe Under Water, director Rebekah Fortune’s new feature starring Maria Bakalova and Rory Kinnear alongside young Ezra Carlisle, is set for a July 7 debut at the 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF). The Hollywood Reporter reported that Bakalova and Fortune spoke about what they described as falling in love with the project’s approach to its characters, and about the film’s distinctive imagery, including a shark built into the roof of a family home.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film centers on Leo, an eight-year-old boy played by Ezra Carlisle, whose mother has been away for five years for reasons described as initially unclear. Leo’s best friend, the movie says, is a massive shark that his artist father (Rory Kinnear) constructed into the roof, and the boy confides in the shark as a way to process a confusing household reality.

The story also introduces Anya, portrayed by Maria Bakalova, as an au pair who arrives and reshapes life for the father and son. The Hollywood Reporter described Anya as spirited and bubbly, with constant questions that disrupt the household’s silence, while her responses are portrayed as direct and honest. Her energy and warmth, the report said, bring color to their lives and push the male duo to step outside the comfort zone they have formed in their heads.

The Hollywood Reporter tied the film’s themes to KVIFF’s programming description, which characterizes Learning to Breathe Under Water as a film for parents and children about learning how to talk and grieve together, how the adult world can be hard to understand, and how children’s opinions should be taken seriously. KVIFF also frames the film as ultimately about learning how to breathe again.

Production details cited by The Hollywood Reporter include Richard Kendrick providing cinematography, with the film shot in Galway, Ireland. The report also said Sam Hodge edited the project, which was written by Richard Brabin and directed by Rebekah Fortune. The producers identified in the report include Jack Tarling and Patrick O’Neill for Shudder Films and Wildcard, with Bankside Films also named among the production companies.

Beyond its Karlovy Vary appearance, the film has also been listed by trade outlets as part of major market programming for early-career filmmakers. Deadline reported in May 2025 that the British Film Institute (BFI) planned to present titles to international buyers in Cannes as part of its Great 8 initiative, and included Learning to Breathe Under Water among those features. An Irish Film & Television Network report in May 2025 likewise highlighted the film being named in connection with that BFI Great 8 showcase.

As of the festival timetable, the film’s next milestone is its screening in KVIFF’s Special Screenings program on Tuesday, July 7. With the premiere approaching immediately after the interview publication, attention will likely shift from behind-the-scenes development and cast chemistry to audience and industry reception during the festival run.

The film’s reliance on a child’s interior life and a caregiving disruption, paired with its visually unusual “shark on the roof” premise, puts it squarely in the family-audience conversation KVIFF says it aims to serve. For distributors and buyers, KVIFF’s Special Screenings slot functions as a high-visibility venue to assess broader appeal for a story positioned around communication, grief, and the everyday rules of trust within a household.