TFV Network presents a recording of a panel discussion from the 2025 Dublin International Film Festival, hosted by Antidote, by one of Ireland's leading commercial production companies. Titled "Parallel Frames: Connecting the Dots Between Ads & Film," the event explored the intersection of advertising and filmmaking.
This panel, moderated by TFV's Matt Micucci, focused on the 20-year parallel journeys of Venom, a company renowned for producing high-quality documentary films, and Antidote, known for producing high-end commercials. The panel featured director Ken Wardrop and producer Andrew Freedman, co-founders of both Antidote and Venom, along with Jessie Hayden, producer and development co-ordinator at Venom, and Paula Stewart, producer at Antidote. We were also joined during the panel by director Brendan Canty, whose film Christy won the Grand Prix in the youth-focused Generation 14plus section of the 2025 Berlinale, and director/animator Johnny Kelly, whose upcoming animated short Retirement Plan will premiere at SXSW in just a few weeks. Canty and Kelly contributed by sharing their own experiences of working with Antidote, and navigating the space between advertising and film.
CHAPTERS
(00:00) Intro
(1:39) The birth of Venom and Antidote
(4:19) Misconceptions about filming commercials
(7:31) The idiosyncrasies of working in commercials and documentaries
(12:30) Diversity of filmmaking styles in commercials
(15:06) Finding the film talent to collaborate with
(17:25) Director Brendan Canty on working on commercials with Antidote
(20:17) Animator Johnny Kelly on working on commercials with Antidote
(21:28) How working in film helps commercial projects
(26:24) Working with documentary filmmaker Ross Whitaker
(28:34) Overlapping of storytelling techniques in documentary and commercials
(31:44) Can a commercial lead to a feature film?
(33:53) The first Antidote commercial
(34:51) Introducing the documentary 'Sanatorium'
(37:30) Outro
