Romeo is a coconut farmer in the city of Mati, the capital of Davao Oriental, Philippines. He has three children, one granddaughter, eight cows, and countless cats and dogs. His world is built around labor, ritual, and the quiet dignity of providing for others. His story reflects the collective traditions of the Philippines, where farming is not just work but inheritance. Through his labor, others on the farm are able imagine different futures.

In this short film named after Romeo, director Joel Yoon, photographer Elinor Kry and Nik Valles, whose father grew up on the farm, follow Romeo through a single day: 3:03 AM instant coffee with his granddaughter, 5:00 AM feeding feuding pigs, 12:24 PM balancing a 50-foot coconut spear, and walking his cows before nightfall. The rhythm of the film is simple, cyclical, and sustained by resilience and love, just like him.

Romeo has worked with Nik’s family for over 30 years, managing the farm where Nik’s father and uncle grew up. It’s a place that gave Nik’s father the opportunity to pursue education and eventually start a new life abroad. With this film, Nik hopes to honor Romeo’s enduring responsibility and selflessness that shaped his own family’s path, and in turn birthed his brand Yuremane. “Yuremane is the world imagined through my emotions in hopes that someone out there feels like they are understood. I share the same belief as my father, that his education was his escape from poverty.”

To break the cycle of poverty, Yuremane’s new collection, Uniform, dedicates a portion of its profits to helping kids in Mati obtain an education.