2026 · Short Drama
Sora No Umi
The Ocean's Emptiness
She made a promise to them. And spent her life keeping it.
- Director
- Writer
- Composer
Synopsis
空の海 — Sora No Umi: The Ocean's Emptiness is a 15-minute short drama written and directed by Michele Gentile, inspired by true events in Okinawa, Japan.
As a child in Okinawa, Mayumi befriends a whale that returns to her stretch of coast each season. When her father is killed during a whale hunt, the loss binds her forever to the animals she once played beside.
What begins as a childhood friendship becomes a lifelong mission: Mayumi spends her life campaigning against whaling, keeping a promise made at the water's edge. The film is told in quiet, elemental images — sea, light and silence — and asks what one person owes to a promise made in childhood.
Director's note — Michele Gentile: the story grew out of a fascination with the bond between people and the sea, and with the question of how a single loss can define an entire life.