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