Overview

This architecture film Shot in Seoul, South Korea, explores how children from different parts of the world respond to the cities they grow up in. Titled If…, the short film asks a simple question: what would you change about your surroundings, and how do you express your ideas creatively?

Working together with Neil Dowling as director, we approached the project from the perspective of curiosity rather than instruction. The film does not attempt to explain architecture in technical terms. Instead, it listens. The children speak about space, freedom, play and possibility. Through drawings, gestures and imagination, they reshape the skylines around them.

Although rooted in Seoul, the film connects voices across cultures. The city becomes both backdrop and catalyst. High-rise buildings, streets and public spaces are seen through a different scale – that of a child navigating an environment designed by adults. In that sense, the architecture film Shot in Seoul, South Korea, becomes less about structures and more about perspective.

Production was handled through Contented, our Korean- and European-based production company. Alongside directing, I worked as director of photography, shaping the visual language to stay close to the children’s expressions – patient, observational and open. In post-production, I continued as editor and colorist, keeping the tone consistent and understated.

If… is ultimately a film about imagination within urban space. It reflects on how young people interpret the environments they inherit, and how creativity can become a way of participating in the future of the city. Rather than presenting definitive answers, the film leaves room for possibility, just as the title suggests.

DIRECTOR

NILS CLAUSS & NEIL DOWLING

PRODUCTION

A CONTENTED PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH UIA SEOUL