South Korea
LAST LETTERS. A short documentary
On the 16th of April 2014 a ferry en route from Incheon to Jeju Island in Korea capsized. 304 out of 476 passengers and crew members died in this tragic accident. This short film follows eight families that lost loved ones that day, and explores the physical and emotional spaces that the tragedy left behind. The film juxtaposes documentary and fictional elements. It shines a light on this still unsolved tragedy and shows the isolation the families feels while they pose for an incomplete family portrait.
More than 2 1/2 years have passed since the Sewol ferry tragedy, which took place on the 16th of April 2014. This day has marked a black day on the Korean calendar ever since for many people. Korea has not been the same again.
Many of the remaining family members of the victims have become engaged in activism due to dissatisfaction with the Korean government and how they handled the tragedy. Nine of the victim’s bodies have never been recovered while the government failed to retrieve the shipwreck to carry out a full investigation. Many people in Korea, not just those affected directly by the tragedy, have many questions about the circumstances of the accident and who should be held responsible for the loss of so many innocent lives. Several Korean filmmakers have tackled the Sewol disaster to examine how this could have happened. And since these documentaries are investigative, I felt I would rather like to create something from a different point of view.
As most of my work is inspired by space and architecture, the living spaces of the remaining family members became the focus of this film. I also wanted to make a documentary film with fictional elements and more of a poetic approach, which hopefully speaks to the families instead of stirring up their anger with hard facts. I hope that this is a film which could bring them some measure of peace in relation to their lost loved ones.
I really hope that this film speaks to the families, but also makes a bigger international audience aware of this dark day in Korean history. This is something the families, who have been abandoned by the Korean government in their search for the truth, are really hoping for.
(Nils)
MILLET. M LIMITED S/S 2016
This is a short video produced by CONTENTED, directed by Jean-Julien Pous and shot by Nils Clauss. The video was made for M Limited Spring Summer 2016, a sportswear division of Millet.
GOETHE PROMO. It’s a wrap!
Nils Clauss and Neil Dowling recently wrapped production for the Goethe Institut promo film. We would like to thank the Goethe Institut and the whole team for their tremendous support. A special thanks goes out to the 3 main characters of the film: Kkobbi Kim, Seungmin Cha and Kyung-Sung Lee.
CHOA nominated as 2014 Film Grant Finalist
After a Vimeo Staff Pick and a showcase on The Atlantic, now CHOA has also been selected as a finalist for the Documentary Film Award 2014 by the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation. Adam Hobbs and Nils Clauss would like to thank UIC and Choa Choi for making this possible in the first place. For more information follow this link.
UIC Promo Video
The UIC promo video A PATH TO SUCCESS just went online. Adam Hobbs, Kuiock Park and Nils Clauss would like to thank Hyungji Park, Jade Choi, Ji Hye Jung, Levi Patel, Nicholas Mockridge, Neil Ardiff, Neil Dowling, Sungil Lee, Sun Kyung Park, Christoph Gularowski, Park Hyo Hun, Wooram Jung, Min Sang Ahn, Jongbok Lee, Aedel Park, Hassan Haider, Yonsei University, Exit Studios, Club Cage, Christian Blood & all the students in this video for their amazing help.
For more information on UIC follow this link.
RUNNER UP. Music Video of the Year
Great News! The music video MOONCHILD for M83 has been selected as one of the 5 RUNNER-UP videos for the Genero Music Video of the year 2013.
A young girl dreams of going into outer space. When she finally gets there she zaps the evil aliens into a peaceful groove with her ray gun. Follow this link, in order to check out this music video by Nils Clauss and Neil Dowling.
CHOA featured in THE ATLANTIC
Skating with the Guys. A female hockey player from South Korea describes what it takes to complete. The film was a collaboration between UIC Yonsei University and filmmakers Nils Clauss and Adam Hobbs. Big thanks to the The Atlantic for featuring the CHOA video. Check out the film here.
DIRECTORS NOTES on Translating Furniture
The film blog DIRECTORS NOTES features an in-depth article on TRANSLATING FURNITURE. The text is based on an interview with Nils Clauss and Adam Hobbs for DIRECTORS NOTES. For more information follow this link.
TRANSLATING FURNITURE features the work of Korean artist Kwangho Lee, winner of the YÉOL Young Craftsman Award 2013. The film is a collaboration between Nils Clauss and Adam Hobbs. Commissioned as a reflection of Kwangho’s talented work, this film provides a unique experience of a young boy discovering art and design.
CHOA . VIMEO STAFF PICK Award
Great News! The short documentary CHOA has been selected for the VIMEO STAFF PICK CHANNEL.
The VIMEO STAFF PICK CHANNEL is the most prestigious channel to find on VIMEO. The channel is run by the VIMEO employees. They select their favorite videos on a daily basis and promote them through their website. Their channel description reads the following: “We really love videos, and these are the videos we really, really love. All of these videos have been hand picked by the real humans who work at Vimeo. We hope you enjoy them!”
CHOA is a short documentary on Choa Choi, who is a female Korean ice hockey player playing in a men’s team. Nils Clauss and Adam Hobbs made this video in collaboration for Underwood International College of Yonsei University, Seoul.
Follow this link in order to check out this short documentary.