Private Project

My Element Water

A Doumentary about a swimmer who seeks the challenge in her conformity element.

Trigger Warning
This clip shows BDSM related violent scenes.
All paerticipants in the clip were educated in advance.

"My Element Water"

A documentary about a swimmer seeking challenges in her comfort element

The 25-year-old Madame A was a former long distance competive swimmer. Connected with water since she can remember, she now seeks to find her boundaries in the nurture of something so familiar. As breathing was the first thing she was taught to learn, she now meets for a challenge where it‘s being taken away. Her experience is reflected in an additional interview. A low-budget short film produced in Stuttgart, Germany. (Trigger warning: sensory deprivation, hypoventilation and waterborading)

Swen Brandy is a 45-year-old photographer and film maker from Germany. In his playshootings, he combines BDSM scenarios with photography, often resulting in personal challenges and intense experiences for the models. In 2020, he began creating short films and clips in addition to his photography work, and publishes them under the label Carnividz. Aside from his shootings, he works as a graphic designer and passes on his knowledge on body and mind work as a kink educator.

Facts
Duration 20:27 Minutes / Language: English / Documentary / Starring: Madame A & Swen Brandy / Video by Swen Brandy / Music: Magnutze / Support by Peppermind & Saara Rei

Film Festivals

Award Winner-Hallucinea Film Festival Paris (France) 2021
Award Winner-Bizarrya Short Film Festival Porto (Portugal) 2022

Selected Porny Art Film Festival in Zürich (Switzerland) 2021
Selected Porn Art Film Festival in Bolognia (Italy) 2021
Selected Hacker Film Festival in Rome (Italy) 2021

...
„What is your point of view regarding the experience shared with the swimmer?

In general, I really love to lead people through challenges and going with people to their own personal limits. So, when we came to this idea, I was very excited. And since I am experienced with waterboarding, I felt very confident that we could go through this challenge together. I am really interested in body language and how people react when they are in all kinds of situations: struggles, celebrations, and so on. Waterboarding is an intense situation, to say the least, and people can react in many ways depending on their background and life experiences. I was very curious to see how a swimmer, and water fetishist, would react when their body feels what they love turns slowly against them. There was never a point in the session where I felt scared or concerned from my side of the process; I did stay with Madam A.’s emotional journey throughout the session, and did my best to regulate what was happening based on how she was feeling. And then, of course, to empathize with her experience and stay focused to make sure it did not become my own, so that I can maintain my part of the practice. Such an intense practice requires an intense focus. And from a kink perspective, I also found it exciting. There was power play, sadomasochism, and bondage in our session; every letter was touched in BDSM. As well as fetish, with water for Madam A. and emotional reactions for me.

Why did you choose this controversial practice?

It would be really easy, in general, to choose a well-accepted BDSM practice that quickly brings a person into fear. Madam A. and I had the idea of starting with something that was very comfortable for her and then to find a way to slowly transform that comfort into discomfort, into fear, step-by-step. For her, as a swimmer, a comfortable starting place was water; not only is she comfortable in water, but she also has a water fetish! So water became our perfect starting place for us. And from there, to bring a human’s relationship to water from comfort to fear… Well, the fear of drowning is a natural direction to play on… and the practice for making a human feel like they are drowning without actually drowning is waterboarding. And so this controversial practice came to us naturally from there.

What are the precautions taken during the shooting of the short film?

Our starting point for precaution was that we both wanted to go into this experience together; our mutual consent, of course, serving as our starting point for building safety and trust. We had many talks together: about fears, motivation, and limits. Madam A. also went through a full physical and mental exam by a doctor to make sure there were no points of contention in her health. She was healthy, fit, and mentally sound. As well, I made sure that I was in a good place physically and mentally and that I had the skills and experience needed to lead us through this journey. I am a trained paramedic and am experienced in waterboarding, both in theory and practice. So, I felt very comfortable with designing this experience. I took common precautions, like having a knife on hand fit for cutting the ropes and fabric that restricted her breathing, I had the numbers of the hospital on hand, and we had a solid set of words, sounds, and gestures that we decided together to help us communicate during the whole process. We also made sure to take breaks and have time together where we are both clearly out of the session, so that we could check in with each other to make sure we kept both consenting to moving forward with each step.

Are there any measures to minimize the risk of heart attack?

Like most BDSM practices that put a lot of stress on the body and mind, a heart attack, panic attack, or visceral reaction can always be possible. The first measure, then, when starting any intense BDSM practice is to make sure that all parties involved are aware of this. And then it is important that we both check in with ourselves and our health to make sure that neither of us are at high risk for a heart attack (imagine if I had a heart attack during the session… it also would not end well for either of us when she is tied up; it is important to think of these details). Since we both had a physical exam before the process, we both felt confident that our risk for a heart attack was low. From there, it was then important to make sure we didn’t go to a place where Madam A. would not go into a shock or have an extremely elevated heart rate. With that, it was important to go slow, break the session up into many steps where we had breaks and time to connect and consider what we were doing, and to keep checking in on our pulse and state of mind during the session. As a trained paramedic, I also felt confident in handling the situation if something were to happen and to have the sound mind to do what needs to be done to help Madam A. and also to call for help if needed. No movie or experience is worth the well-being of any individual; and so there was no doubt in either of our minds to stop if things became too much.“

  • Swen Brandy Carnivore
    Director
  • Swen Brandy Carnivore
    Writer
  • Swen Brandy Carnivore
    Producer
  • Magnutze
    Producer
    Music
  • Madame A
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    BDSM, Erotic, Documentary
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes 7 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 3, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    50 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital (Canon Eos 6D)
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Hallucinea Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    December 28, 2021
    Award Winner
Director Biography - Swen Brandy Carnivore

Swen Brandy

born 1976, Leonberg, Germany
2009 - Today Freelancer (conceptual designer, Art Director, Producer, Artist, Photographer)
2020 - Founded "PURE PROJECT - Kink Documentary"

2018 - FETLIFE - Photography Award "Best Rope Art Photography"
2011 - 2014 Art Director - Bzw Dobler Agency, Stuttgart, Germany
2010 - 2011 Freelancer - tibi tibi advertising Agency, Ludwigsburg, Germany
2007 - 2010 Graphic Designer & Art Director, Agency 7us Music Label. Stuttgart, Germany
2004-2007 Study communication design - Lazi Akademy, Esslingen, Germany
1997-2004 Work as Printer, cartographer & graphic - Strasbourg, France
1993-1997 Printer Education - Rutesheim, Germany

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