I have been searching for a way to express what I felt growing up with the dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer. I danced every day of my life for 18 years and I see in her my silence, my strive for perfection while battling against myself. As women, we are taught to make everything look effortless- to glide, to smile, to hide the struggle beneath the surface. From the beginning, I wanted “Dans un souffle” to reclaim space and show that grace doesn’t mean weakness. Nina Pinzarrone was, at the moment of the film, the second-best figure skater in Belgium in the first year of her competitive season as a senior athlete. It was also a great opportunity for me to catch her at the beginning of her career as she has been growing immensely in the last few years, becoming the Belgium champion and taking a great part in European and World Championships.

Hidden beneath the surface of the film, subtle echoes of fragility emerge, like the distant sound of ice breaking in a frozen lagoon.That quiet crack in the ice is more than just sound design; it reminds us of the hidden toll behind every effortless movement since at the moment of filming, Nina had several stress fractures in her hips. 

Without colour, we’re left with the raw elements: light, shadow, and the fleeting shapes Nina carves into the ice. It’s a way of stripping everything down and focusing on her strengths and vulnerabilities. Through her silence and breath, the audience is guided through Nina’s journey. Focusing on sound, the film shows the quiet power of perseverance and resilience. Nina’s story isn’t just hers, it reflects the story of women whose strength often goes unseen. The ice becomes both a stage and a battleground, where Nina must fight for ownership of her own body and narrative.