Manuel de Coco (b. 1975)
Alias:
Μάνουελ ντε Κόκο
Birthplace:
Athens, Greece
Born:
December 24, 1975
Manuel de Coco was born in Athens, Greece on the 24th of December, 1975. He is a film director and writer, best known for his poetic and transcendental style. He is also renowned for travelling to extreme places to explore humanity's relationship with spirituality. Through his films one feels the harmony and divine essence of the earth, with a clear look at humanity that reveals a world in crisis. He frequently uses very profound narratives, with an existential voice over, non-professional actors and unconventional techniques to create a dreamlike and hypnotic effect. His films are visually arresting and immersive offering a different perspective on the art of cinema which elevates his work from a film to an experience. His directorial debut, the cult feature film "Unknown Land" (2012), was filmed in Israel and in Yemen (Socotra Island) during the period of “Arab Spring” at the monsoon season, with a broken camera. Its budget was 25.000 euros & the shootings lasted only 12 days. It is the first feature film which has been filmed in Socotra. This isolated island has been described as the most alien landscape on earth. The film has been selected at festivals worldwide (Cairo IFF, Sao Paulo IFF, Andrei Tarkovsky IFF, Film Festival Cologne etc.) and won several awards. Initially, the film would be Yemen’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award (Oscar), but Manuel de Coco was endorsed in Yemen. The film has been banned in many countries of the Arab world and in Israel. Eleven years later Manuel de Coco returned to the big screen with his 2nd feature film, the avant-garde docu-fiction "Invisible World" (2023) filmed over a 17-year period in 10 countries (Tibet, Mongolia, Russia, Israel, Palestine, Greece, Italy, Vatican City, Nepal, India). As a result of Manuel's choice at the editing, scenes in Nepal and India were cut completely. Μost festivals were reluctant to present this controversial film due to political and religious reasons. Finally, “Invisible World” had its world premiere at the 27th Avanca Film Festival in Portugal and has been screened at a few other festivals followed by numerous awards. Manuel de Coco’s truly grand vision of the themes he dealt with in his first two films, has divided critics and audiences. Currently he is in pre-production of his 3rd feature film.