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Poster for Learning to Breathe Under Water

Learning to Breathe Under Water

2026 · 95 min

A gentle, bittersweet story about imagination and connection, blending whimsy with emotional depth.

Directed by
Rebekah Fortune
Genres
Drama, Family
Starring
Rory Kinnear, Maria Bakalova, Ezra Carlisle
Overview
Leo is 8. His best friend is a giant shark that his dad, an artist, built in their roof. Leo escapes to fantasy worlds to process his peculiar reality until a spirited au pair challenges him to embrace the wild, wonderful mess of real life.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Rebekah Fortune
Genres
Drama, Family
Starring
Rory Kinnear, Maria Bakalova, Ezra Carlisle
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • warmstrength 2 of 3
  • whimsicalstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • family
  • grief
  • immigration
  • identity
  • healing
Places
  • home
  • small town
Era
contemporary
Audience
family
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence none
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror0
Humour4
Realism7
Romance1
Tension2
Darkness3
Complexity4
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, family
Directed by
Rebekah Fortune
Written by
Richard Brabin
Starring
Rory Kinnear, Maria Bakalova, Ezra Carlisle, Declan Conlon
Runtime
95 min
Country
Ireland, United Kingdom, Netherlands
Languages
English

TMDBIMDb