Ocle

Synopsis

This project shows a day in the life of Jorge, a thirty year old that travels daily to the coast in search of ocle, the prized seaweed that from September until February, the Cantabrian Sea occasionally deposits onto the Asturian coasts. Always looking to the sea and at the mercy of chance, this is a story about waiting and the gestures that emerge from that process.

Letter of Intent

I was born in Valencia, but my father’s family is from northern Spain, and in his youth, my father came to regard the village of Niembru as his own. Coming from the Mediterranean, the North has always made a strong impression on me: its landscapes, its smells, its customs, its accents… It was there that I first came into contact with the world of ocle, since Jorge, one of my best friends, spent (and still spends) the months from September through February harvesting this seaweed—an obscure trade that impressed me from the very beginning. Men driving into the sea in old, modified tractors equipped with enormous metal rakes—rust and saltpeter, seaweed, waves, night, cold, drizzle, observation, cunning, silence. Ever since I first became interested in film, I’ve felt the pull of this atmosphere and wanted to capture it.

Director

Manuel Omonte is an emerging Spanish filmmaker. After discovering film at his city’s film archive, he decided to move to Barcelona to study screenwriting and directing at the Bande à Part film school, which later led him to pursue a master’s degree in creative documentary at the UAB. With a passion for contemporary cinema, Manuel explores the blending of genres and themes while finding his own voice. He is currently working on several projects, including the distribution of his latest short film, La Luminosa, produced by Umbracle Cine and Miracor Films, as well as pre-production on the short film Ocle and his first feature film, Euro veinte.