Nils
Clauss
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Last Letters at the 5th Duhok International Film Festival

Last Letters screening at the 5th Duhok International Film Festival in September 2017, marking the film’s presentation in the Kurdish region of Iraq
Last Letters Screens at the Duhok International Film Festival

LAST LETTERS will screen at the 5th Duhok International Film Festival on September 15, 2017. The festival takes place in Duhok, a city of around 250,000 people in the Kurdish region of Iraq. The invitation means a lot to me, as the festival focuses on culture, dialogue, and rebuilding identity through film.

Why Duhok Matters

Duhok is a place with a strong cultural history that continues to shape its future through the arts. The festival aims to move beyond political conflict and highlight cinema as a tool for connection and growth. Being part of this effort feels meaningful and aligned with why I make films.

Revisiting the Sewol Tragedy

LAST LETTERS looks at the aftermath of the Sewol ferry disaster on April 16, 2014. Rather than focusing on investigation or facts, the film stays with eight families who lost loved ones. It explores the physical and emotional spaces that remain after such a loss.

Documentary and Fiction Together

I chose to blend documentary and fictional elements to approach the story with care. The film follows the families as they attempt to create an incomplete family portrait. This moment reflects both absence and distance. It also points to emotions that often stay unseen or unspoken.

Sharing the Film Internationally

Screening LAST LETTERS in Duhok gives the film a new context. Although the story is rooted in Korea, grief and loss are universal experiences. I hope the film allows audiences to connect across cultures through shared emotion rather than explanation.

Looking Forward

Being part of the Duhok International Film Festival reminds me why film matters. It can travel, connect, and create space for empathy. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share Last Letters in a place that values cinema as a way to reflect, remember, and rebuild.

The crashing waves swirl together in shades of blue and white, creating a dynamic, almost painterly texture on the ocean’s surface.
A Holy Maria statue stands in the room of a man who lost his life in the Sewol ferry disaster in South Korea.
Two school children run up a large sand dune, embodying two of the lost souls from the Sewol ferry disaster in this dream sequence for the short film Last Letters.
A young man stands atop a coastal rock formation, smashing a stone, embodying one of the lost souls of the Sewol ferry disaster in this dream sequence for the short film Last Letters.
Poster Image of Last Letters featuring a girl in a school uniform runs through a pine forest, turning around in fear while wearing a yellow mask, symbolizing the lost souls of the Sewol ferry disaster in this dream sequence for Last Letters.
A man runs away from the camera on a fog-covered, lonely beach, resembling one of the lost souls of the Sewol ferry disaster in this dream sequence for the short film Last Letters.
A mother and her three daughters pose for a portrait, leaving an empty chair for her fourth daughter, who was among the many lives lost in the Sewol ferry disaster in South Korea
A school uniform hangs beside a portrait of a child who lost her life in the Sewol ferry disaster, a tragedy that claimed many lives in South Korea.