Manuel S. Umo

Manuel S. Umo was born in Spain and grew up in several countries in Europe; France, England and Portugal. By the age of 16 he was already speaking 4 languages. After graduating from the University of San Pablo CEU in Madrid, where he received a BA in Journalism, he was awarded a grant to study film at NYU. He spent two years there involved in workshops on directing and producing. Later he began working as a filmmaker covering the conflict in Kosovo, in collaboration with BBC, where he had an exclusive opportunity to follow some members of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Manuel spent the next few years working in different places around the world such as Israel, Russia and Spain. He was writing, shooting and editing stories for various media corporations including El Mundo TV, where he specialized in investigative reports. He returned to NYU with funding from the Canary Islands Government to write, direct and produce his first feature. "Soldiers in the Shadows" is a 90 minute student film shot on super 16 mm, hand-held, with a micro budget of $150,000. The film helped to shape his progression as a filmmaker and got him some exposure in the European festival circuit. In the summer of 2010 he moved to Los Angeles to write and develop projects for the film industry. His main interests include subjects regarding historical and political issues, particularly those that are relevant to the world we live in today.