Anna Biller 's concept for '' Viva '' originally started as a photo series inspired by old '' Playboy '' magazines , and the photos inspired her to create a story surrounding these characters . Another big inspiration was Luis Buñuel 's film '' Belle de Jour '' . Biller used the photos as a proof-of-concept , and was able to secure the full funding to make a feature film from a private investor . The film was made slowly as they had to repeatedly pause production to raise more money . They originally budgeted for $ 100,000 , but the final cost of the film was $ 750,000 . Principal photography lasted from 2005 to 2007 . Biller chose to star in the film herself because she " would n't ask another actress to take off her clothes in the movie and do all these things with the power trip being ' I 'm the director , you 're the actress . ' " '' Viva '' premiered at the 36th International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2007 . It was also entered into the main competition at the 29th Moscow International Film Festival . Biller created all the marketing materials for '' Viva '' herself , and she did n't have a distributor so she distributed the film herself . The film had a very limited theatrical release ; it played at Cinema Village in New York for only one week , and received poor ticket sales . '' Viva '' was released on DVD by Cult Epics and Anchor Bay Entertainment on Feb. 24 , 2009
29th Moscow International Film Festival
29th Moscow International Film Festival
Viva (2007 film)