This is a deadly condition which exists in the real world. Elżbieta Krajewska reports on a charity screening of a new Polish short film entitled Ondine that features a hero, played by Bartosz Bielenia, who has to confront this myth.
The movie is by Polish filmmaker Tomasz Śliwiński, author of Our Curse from 2015, a personal documentary that is credited with drawing attention to Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome on a global scale.