Film not rated by the MPPA.

I saw a post online recently that read something along the lines of “you need to be more scared of wasting your life than being embarrassed”. Isn’t that the truth? Embarrassment is never everlasting. It passes. People move on and you let go. Time, however, is precious and easily lost.

Every Living Breathing Moment is a wonderful short film, written, directed, and edited by Angelo Visser. What Every Living Breathing Moment captures is the dilapidating nature of never letting your soul truly sing, only ever watching life unfold for others, but still finding the courage within yourself to follow your heart.

The main character works a mundane 9-5 and lives behind his camera on his daily commute, taking pictures of the more vibrant lives around him. He never reaches out beyond what he captures in a polaroid picture. Over the course of the film, he endeavors to live life to the fullest, refusing to miss out on any great experiences due to fear of pursuit.

This short utilizes the power of music and cinematography to create the most captivating atmosphere in downtown Seattle. Washington State is often portrayed as a dark, blueish green, gloomy location. Catherine Hardwick’s Twilight is a spectacular example of that Washington. It’s all rain, little to no sunshine. I, however, love how Visser prompts the unfamiliar audience with an unexpected vision of Seattle, and yet it’s exactly the one I grew up with. Colorful, lively, and gorgeous. Seattle has such an indescribable soul to it, so Visser doesn’t try to explain it with words. Rather, he lets the scene speak for itself, with golden lighting, somewhat saturated coloring, and a beautiful score, brilliantly composed by Grant Stellar.

One of the most exciting things around the making of this film were the ages of the crew, who were primarily in their late teens and early twenties. It does reframe the idea that you need years of experience to make a great film. In watching the short, you can feel how much passion and care was bled into the overall craftsmanship.

An old man, whilst reflecting on his life, specifically how he never travelled to Tanzania like he’d wanted to, tells our main character, “there are only so many windows of opportunity to go to Tanzania”. This final monologue leads into the titular track, one of the most stunning musical compositions I’ve heard in a minute, embodying how it sounds when you decide you’re not going to miss out on any more “windows of opportunity”.

In a time where life can feel hopeless, this film reminds me that is not true. It nostalgically, and sickeningly so, reminds me of something my high school principal used to say over the intercom every morning during homeroom.

“Make it a great day. Or not. The choice is yours.”

You can choose to love people and your community. You can choose to chase after what the world has to offer you. You can choose to look beyond your sideline photos and put yourself out there. Why wouldn’t you want to fully embrace every living, breathing moment?

Every Living Breathing Moment is available to watch for free on YouTube.

Published on July 31st, 2026.