- Born
- Manuel de Coco was born in Athens, Greece. He is a film director and writer, best known for his poetic and transcendental style. He is also renowned for traveling to extreme and remote places to explore humanity's relationship with spirituality.
Through his films, one can feel the harmony and divine essence of the earth, with a clear look at humanity that reveals a world in crisis. He frequently uses 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 unique 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" and the monsoon season, with a broken camera. Its budget was EUR25,000 and the filming lasted only 12 days. It is the first feature film which has ever been shot in Socotra. This isolated island has been described as the most alien landscape on earth. The film has been screened at festivals worldwide (Cairo IFF, São Paulo IFF, Andrei Tarkovsky IFF, Film Festival Cologne etc.) and won several awards. Initially, the film was going to be Yemen's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award (Oscar), but Manuel de Coco was censored in Yemen. The film has subsequently 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 second 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 during editing, all scenes filmed in Nepal and India were cut completely. Most 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 selected festivals, receiving awards.
Manuel de Coco's ambitious vision of the themes he dealt with in his first two films has divided both critics and audiences. His third feature film, "The Purification", an existential, metaphysical thriller, is in pre-production. The screenplay has been written and developed gradually over the past 25 years.
- IMDb mini biography by: Other side Films
- Often shoots films without an official script.
- Narration in his films is often delivered in hushed, almost whispering tones.
- Manuel de Coco is a Christian philosopher-poet whose films often carry vague and elusive meanings. He appears to oppose the rise of globalization, particularly when politics and religion exploit human individuality in the name of profit. His films serve as a powerful denunciation of the corruption of our humanity.
- Manuel de Coco is a divisive figure; some critics see him as a reclusive artist more focused on atmosphere than on conventional storytelling. Yet his films are meditative explorations of the bond between man and nature, imbued with a spiritual - often Christian - quest for truth. Rarely giving interviews, he allows his work to speak for itself: poetic, introspective, and unconcerned with current trends. His style is defined by long, contemplative shots, minimal dialogue, and a lyrical atmosphere far removed from traditional narrative structure.
- He shifts his films around the halfway point, breaking the narrative flow to introduce a new perspective - sometimes through a flashback - which ultimately reveals a deeper spiritual connection to the main story.
- Manuel de Coco has filmed "Unknown Land" using people from the locality of Socotra, who had no knowledge of the script but only the film's general idea. His intention was not to let them know the details of the script, so that they would simply go along with the idea of the movie. Rehearsals with these individuals took place only a few minutes before each scene was shot. This allowed them to feel comfortable and to improvise freely. In this way they could remain simple and the authenticity of the story could be preserved, rather than having them interpret roles as cinematic heroes who were simply delivering the script.
- Manuel de Coco is a risk-taker. Having filmed in Yemen during the Arab Spring - for the banned 2012 feature film "Unknown Land" - and putting himself in danger, it was no surprise that the 47-year-old filmmaker would jump into filming "Invisible World" undercover in Tibet and Palestine. The director has spent the last 17 years working on this docu-fiction.
- In Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds", in the scene where Brad Pitt and his team pose as Italian filmmakers, the name that Omar Doom's character takes is De Coco.
- Shunning publicity, he seldom grants interviews, choosing instead to unveil his esoteric and philosophical vision through written artistic statements that accompany his work.
- Manuel de Coco avoids Q&A sessions and press interviews, preferring to remain in the background and allow the work to resonate on its own terms. However, he often attends screenings, sits anonymously among the audience, and is open to conversation if approached afterwards in the foyer.
- Our soul is an unknown land, which few have managed to explore.
- A plunge into the unknown brings together something magical exceeding every day life.
- Cinema needs more poetic films.
- Once again the audience remained silent and motionless inside the cinema after the screening. The end titles fell off, the lights went out but their hearts were already connected to the secret power of my film "Unknown Land"
- My films are ahead of their time, and some of them may not be recognized as long as I live. Perhaps, never, unless someone discovers them.
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