Children's Hospital Colorado delivers new campaign
Director Stefan Pflug delivers a heartfelt new campaign for Children's Hospital Colorado.
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Director Stefan Pflug, represented by Cultivate Media and ad agency Sukle have created In an Instant, an emotionally charged campaign film for Children's Hospital Colorado that explores how an ordinary school day can change forever in a single phone call.
The film follows the parallel journeys of a young boy, Ben, who suffers a sudden cardiac emergency at school, and his mother, who receives the phone call no parent should ever have to answer. Rather than leaning into melodrama, ‘In an Instant’ builds its emotional weight through restrained performances and an observational approach that places the audience alongside both the family and the caregivers fighting to save his life.
Known for performance-driven storytelling, Pflug approached the production with a clear philosophy: if the film was to resonate emotionally, it first had to feel real. Rather than recreating hospital environments, the production was embedded inside Children's Hospital Colorado, filming in active clinical spaces, working alongside the hospital's own doctors, nurses and emergency staff throughout the shoot. Many of those ultimately appear on screen, performing the very roles they carry out every day. The result is a film that blurs the line between narrative filmmaking and a real experience.
Credits
View on- Agency Sukle/Denver
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- Director Stefan Pflug
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Credits
View on- Agency Sukle/Denver
- Director Stefan Pflug
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Credits
powered by- Agency Sukle/Denver
- Director Stefan Pflug
“The audience immediately knows when something feels performed,” says Pflug. “Our goal wasn't to make a dramatic hospital film. We wanted to make something that felt real. The staff didn't need to act; they just had to do what they've spent their careers doing every day. That honesty elevated the performance around them. Combined with the beautiful work of Henry Hummel and his on-screen parent Mandy Groves, it created something that felt real to me.”
The production presented an unusual directing challenge, bringing together experienced actors, a young firsttime performer and medical professionals with no acting experience. Rather than separating those worlds, Pflug approached every performance with the same philosophy, creating an environment where people felt comfortable enough to simply be present, allowing genuine reactions to replace overt dramatization.
Shot on location in Colorado, this project perfectly reflects Pflug's strengths as a filmmaker; “This is exactly the kind of project you'd hope to bring to a filmmaker like Stefan,” says Cultivate’s Mark Thomas. “After viewing the finished film, his instinct for finding emotional honesty without forcing it is apparent. This project demanded sensitivity, patience and trust. One can sense the space he created for experienced actors, firsttime performers and real medical staff to work naturally within the same frame. Those attributes are why we knew he was the right director to recommend for this story.”
For Children's Hospital Colorado, ‘In an Instant’ reflects the extraordinary skill and compassion of the people who care for children every day. For Pflug, it continues a growing body of work built around emotionally grounded storytelling, where authentic performances and observed human behaviour take precedence. ‘In an Instant’ is now live across broadcast, digital and social platforms throughout the US.
