Fern Berresford

I’ve noticed a few new followers recently, so it feels like a good time to re-introduce myself. I’m Fern — a director and photographer working across commercial and creative projects. This year I’ll be sharing more of my process, thoughts on building a creative career and glimpses behind the scenes on set. Check out the carousel to learn a little more about my journey. If you’d like to say hello, I’d love to hear what your creative path looks like. #CreativeCareer #Directing #Filmmaking #Photography #CommercialDirector

2025 was a challenging year for me - an emotional rollercoaster at times and I’m deeply grateful for the people who stood by me and helped me ride it out. Through it all, my work continued to bring me so much satisfaction and joy. This year I signed with new production companies in America, @made.by.nobodys and Ireland, @wearebanjoman . I directed commercials for some incredible agencies, brands and institutions from the NHS, to LEGO, to the Royal Navy. I shot across countries, in cities, theme parks & even on an aircraft carrier. I’m so grateful to the production companies that continue to nurture and champion my voice @roguefilms @sequoiacontent @academy.photo and to the producers who have gone above and beyond to support me this year - you’re amazing. Thank you to the brilliant crews who work tirelessly to bring the ideas to life. I love being on set, making things, working as a team to build worlds and craft stories. As we begin a new year I’m feeling more focused & fired up than ever. Looking ahead to 2026, I’m craving more emotional depth in my work, more writing, more shooting, more connection. I plan to build bigger cinematic visions and to hunt for ideas that excite and push me creatively. If you’re a writer or creative that wants to get things made then reach out. Let’s make this the most creatively rich year yet ✨ #2025wrapped #creativeprocess #wrapped2025 #yearinreview #director #commercialdirector #womendirectors #onsetlife #creativedirection #filmdirectorُ #cinematicstorytelling #visualstorytelling #filmmakinglife #creativecollaboration

🎬NEW WORK - FIND YOUR SPACE ON LINKEDIN 300 cast, 100 crew, 5 days shooting, 16 locations, a warehouse full of tables; this one was a biggie and I LOVED every second of working on it. A huge thanks to LinkedIn and VCCP for having me onboard to bring this idea to life and to the team of incredibly creative people that made this commercial such a joy to work on. Agency: @vccp__ Deputy ECD: Matt Lloyd Creative: Tom Lee Creative: Vicky David Producer: Pete Thornton Production Company: @rattlingstick Director: Fern Beresford Producer: Kelly Spacey DOP: @murrren Service Company: @farmfilmsa Prod Services: Skip Margetts Prod Services: Kelly Drummond Production Design: Herman Lampen Editors: @thequarryedit Editor: @rebecca_luff Post Production: @absolute_post Post: @christobin92 Post Producer: @ollieireland Colourist: Matt Turner Sound: @wavestudios_ Sound: Parv Thind Leland Music Licensing: Toby Williams Licensing: Bonnie Reilly Track: Mungo Jerry - Alright, Alright, Alright #commercial #director #findyourspace #connection #work #ad #femaledirector #creative #linkedin

🎬 A quick peek behind the scenes of the latest commercial I directed for Denny’s. This short but sweet film was all about tasty food with attitude. The agency came to me to dial up the action and capture the personality of the Denny’s dishes. Watch the BTS to get more insight into the creative process. Huge thanks to the Denny’s team and the creative agency @barkley.okrp for having me onboard, and to the incredible crew who pulled out all the stops to capture everything in a day. Creative Agency @barkley.okrp EVP, Head of Client Experience - Betsy Ross Group Creative Director - Rony Castor ACD Art Director - Freddy Agostini ACD Copywriter - Ernesto Martinez Content Creator - Gabe Oviawe Producer - Kristin Grandberry Production Company @made.by.nobodys Director’s Representative @nikkiweissandco EP @malinafilm EP @breighsutherland EP @gabe.reiter Prod Supervisor - David Orr 1st A.D @chadschwartzkopf 2nd A.D - Nicole Evranian DOP - Jon Chema 1st A.C. @mr.benbrady 2nd A.C - Ben Sasser Art Director - Mollie Earls Hair & Makeup - Kim Konsler Wardrobe Stylist - Shannon Hall Food Stylist - Liz Duffy #CommercialShoot #BehindTheScenes #CreativeProcess #director #onsetlife

🎬NEW WORK - ROYAL NAVY - A CLUB LIKE NO OTHER One of my favourite things about my job is that I never know where the next shoot might take me, for this latest campaign I found myself on the flight deck of the iconic HMS Prince of Wales surrounded by helicopters and F-35 jets. What an experience! The Royal Navy Reserves wanted to shake things up and try a bold new approach to welcome in new members by taking them on a tour of the ultimate club. This inventive script really sparked my imagination. It’s a fresh and creative way to showcase all of the incredible opportunities and experiences the Royal Navy Reserves has to offer. The shoot took place over two days, using a mix of locations and bespoke set builds and an enthusiastic cast of real Navy Reserves. It was inspiring to hear their stories firsthand and to work with them to guide their performances and boost their confidence on camera. Their authenticity brought a raw energy and relatable warmth to the film. A big thank you to @house337 and the Royal Navy for having me at the helm for this one. And thanks to my brilliant crew for helping to bring the vision to life. HOUSE 337 Client Managing Director: Diane Gracie Creative Director: Steve Hawthorne Creatives: Michael Arthey & Poppy Cumming-Spain Senior Producer: Tash Dean Assistant Producer: Hannah Shelley Rogue Films @roguefilms Director: Fern Beresford EP: James Howland Producer: @maddyeaston Production Manager: @sammyj0001 DOP: @murrren Facility company: Green olive 
Facility Producer: Maria Kopanou
1st AD: @robertbtthorpe 
Steady Cam: @mrallsop 
Camera assistant: Benjamin Curran 
Sound: Stephen Hodge
Edit house: @workeditorial 
Editor: @rebecca_luff 
Executive Producer: Frankie Elster
Post & Audio House: @no8ldn 
Sound Engineer: Sam Robson
Colourist: @turners_colour 
VFX Supervisor: Jim Allen
VFX Compositor: Hussein Hussani
Post Producer: Lily Delphine
Post EP: Simon Downie
Music Supervision: @wakethetownmusic 
Music Supervisor: Harley Beckmann-Hawksley

🎬NEW WORK - DENNY IRELAND - MAKE LIFE SIZZLE This latest campaign for Denny’s is all about bringing to life those moments that really ‘Make Life Sizzle’. We had so much fun on set exploring these well observed moments of relatable humour and finding performances that felt playful but real. A huge thank you to TBWA Ireland and Denny Ireland for having me onboard. Client : Pilgrim’s Europe Lead Client : Ashley Moran Agency : TBWA\Ireland Creative Director : Des Creedon Copywriter : Donal Gaughran @dongaughran Art Director : Vinicius Bustamante @vini.bustamante And to my fantastic crew - Production Company : Motherland Line Producer : Grainne Tiernan Head of Production : Margaret Levingstone @magslev 1st AD : Nick Thomas DoP : Luke Jacobs @lukejacobs Production Designer : Joe Fallover Art Director : Christina Brosnan Food Stylist : Johan van der Merwe POST PRODUCTION Motherland Post Head of Post-Production : Anthony McCaffery @mcquaffers Post Producer : Laura Greally @lsheareralot Editor : Laura Briggs @laurabriggsedits VFX : John O’Hagan @j.o.h.n.o.h.a.g.a.n Grade : Donal O’Kane at Screen Scene Music : Loud & Clear Music Sound : Mutiny

🎬NEW WORK - LEGOLAND® - THE GIRL WHO CONTROLLED PLAYTIME What an absolute joy this job was, a creative script that’s full of imagination and heart, huge fun sets to design, a festival to bring to life and an incredible cast and crew to help me do it! A big thank you to @tbwamcr and the clients at LEGOLAND® for having me onboard. Agency: @tbwamcr Client: LEGOLAND® Creative Team: @tom_ho1mes @glennscholefield Executive Creative Director: Gary Fawcett Production company: @roguefilms Director: @fern_b Exec Producer: James Howland Producer: Cathy Green DOP: @murrren Production Design: @ssscenery1 1st AD: Sean Cotter Wardrobe: @poppybellstyling MUA: @vellismakeupandhair Editor: @rebecca_luff   Edit house: @workeditorial Post: @blackkitestudios Grade: @blackkitestudios Music: @eclectic_music_ltd

🎬NEW WORK - “THAT FEELING” This latest piece of work is all about capturing ‘That Feeling’. That universal moment, recognised by all women, when, after a long day, you finally unclasp, unclip and unwind and take off your bra. This clever and inventive script from @mcsaatchiuk uses that relatable truth, and applies it to getting your breast screening sorted. To be free from putting it off and to take an empowering step towards looking after your physical and mental wellbeing - unburdening your mind (and your boobs). I love working on projects that have a positive social impact and I’m proud to have directed this film for the NHS’ first campaign for breast screening ✨ @campaignmagazine ’s Ad of the Day @thedrummag ’s Ad of the Day Agency: @mcsaatchiuk Client: NHS Creatives: @amyparkhill , @ma.lowe , Matt Lee Production company: @roguefilms Director: Fern Berresford @fern_b Producer: @sophiepesky DOP: @eirawynjones Production Design: @lukemoranmorris 1st AD: @rose_esme_lucas Wardrobe: @poppybellstyling MUA: @vellismakeupandhair Editor: @rebecca_luff   Edit house: @workeditorial Grade: @no8ldn Sound: @littlethingssoundstudios

Last week I had the privilege of being interviewed by journalist Tim Cumming from Shots Magazine. We talked about ambition and the unexpected twists and turns a creative career can take. From directing my first short film fresh out of university, to teaching myself to light, shoot and retouch photography, to building a reel of work that I'm really proud of. I’m still very much on the journey, juggling creative expression with commerce and I expect I always will be. Dreaming up ideas and bringing them to life is a fundamental part of who I am. I’m happiest when I’m creating something. In the article I mention two of my mentors Mark Denton and Sara Cummins, who nurtured me in my twenties and gave me many of my first opportunities in the industry. Alongside Mark and Sara there are hundreds of other people that have helped me create work, make-up artists, stylists, producers, production assistants, reps, editors, designers, DOPs, writers and many more, who have worked (sometimes on self initiated projects for free) to bring a film or photography idea to life. I just want to say a massive thank you to all of these people. You know who you are. I couldn’t make a single thing without you. I might be 17 years into my career but I’m still just getting started. There’s a lot more that I plan to do, direct a TV show, make a feature film, scale up my photography and place my characters in larger scenic worlds… It was fun looking back and connecting the career dots but there’s so much more to look forward to. Thank you to @shots_creative for the interview. Link to the full article in bio.

🎬 A GOLD award for Best Child Direction and SILVER for Best Storytelling Direction! Wow. Thank you to the @kinsalesharkawards , @motherland_ie , @forsmanbodenfors.dub , @allianzireland and to all the cast and crew, particularly our lead actress Ailbhe. Her incredible talent made my job easy. Agency - @forsmanbodenfors.dub Client - @allianzireland Production Company - @motherland_ie Director - @fern_b Producer - @keithslnkabradley Executive Producer - @rosskilleen Head Of Production - @magslev Managing Director - @the_french Head of Post Production -@mcquaffers Line Producer - @hanzgal DOP - @narayanvanmaele Gaffer - Eoin O’Hagan Editor - @rebecca_luff VFX - @screenscenepost  - Allen Sillery Post Producer - @lsheareralot Sound - Dean Murray Music - @eclectic_music_ltd Art Director - @joefallover Stylist - @sarahflanagan1 Hair Make Up - Jenny Hennessy

What a nice surprise! Our Allianz social initiative film Stop The Drop won three awards at the Institute of Creative Advertising and Design last week. The film picked up bronze awards for Best TVC over 30”, Best Direction and Best Special Effects. A big thank you to the ICAD Awards and a huge congratulations to the whole team that pulled out all the stops to bring this vision to life. Agency - @forsmanbodenfors.dub Client - @allianzireland Production Company - @motherland_ie Director - @fern_b Producer - @keithslnkabradley Executive Producer - @rosskilleen Head Of Production - @magslev Managing Director - @the_french Head of Post Production -@mcquaffers Line Producer - @hanzgal DOP - @narayanvanmaele Gaffer - Eoin O’Hagan Editor - @rebecca_luff VFX - @screenscenepost - Allen Sillery Post Producer - @lsheareralot Sound - Dean Murray Music - @eclectic_music_ltd Art Director - @joefallover Stylist - @sarahflanagan1 Hair Make Up - Jenny Hennessy

🎬NEW WORK - DINNER TIME WELL SPENT As a kid I loved dinner time. My Dad is a fantastic cook, so the food was always top notch but what I enjoyed the most was having a regular time every day to catch-up with my family. There was something so intrinsically comforting about that nightly routine. The shout of “Dinnnnnerrrrr” from Mum or Dad, a stampede of feet down the stairs and the eager scrape of chairs as the whole family took a seat at the table. So where did it all go wrong? When did we lose touch with what Dinner Time used to be? That’s the question that this SuperValu campaign poses. “When did the food that brought us together get replaced with the feeds that pull us apart?”  This commercial is a rallying cry across Ireland to remind people to put down their phones. Trash the takeaways. Lay down their laptops and instead pick up their knives and forks and get back to valuing that precious time spent sharing a meal with the people you love. Thanks to my talented team who helped me pull it all together! PRODUCTION COMPANY - @motherland_ie DIRECTOR - @fern_b AGENCY - @boysandgirlsltd CLIENT - SuperValu DOP - @lukejacobs ART DEPARTMENT - @joefallover EDITOR - @stephenwstaunton POST - @screenscenepost MUSIC - @folding.waves #commercial #director #work #ad #femaledirector #creative #cinematography #dinnertime #dinnertimewellspent #dinner #supervalu #advert