Motherland Adds Directors Fern Berresford and TJ O’Grady-Peyton to Its Roster
Fern Berresford is a multi-talented filmmaker and photographer whose work spans across film, music videos, TV commercials, and photography. She has a unique visual style, combining clever concepts with beautifully bold aesthetics, creating quirky characters that inhabit vibrant worlds. Often with an underlying humour she also loves darker, deeper and more emotive driven scripts.
Fern's work has been recognised across the industry, picking up awards at the British Arrows, D&AD, Creative Circle, and the International Photography Awards in New York. She received a nomination for the Young Directors Award at the Cannes Lions and her first film ‘Man Made’ was the winner of Best Film at the Women in Film Festival.
She was also selected as a winner of the British Journal Of Photography’s ‘Female in Focus Awards’. Her photography has been exhibited internationally and featured in publications including Vogue Italia and Hunger Magazine.
No stranger to Irish shores, Fern also directed the ACT nominated Allianz Women’s Aid campaign at last year's Cannes Lions.
TJ O’Grady-Peyton first gained industry recognition in 2013 when he was short listed at the Young Director Awards in Cannes for his Adidas ‘Super’ film after graduating from the London Film School’s filmmaking MA programme. Over the last decade he has written and directed a number of short films and is currently working on a feature.
TJ’s work is cinematic, contemporary and striking. His visual approach and craft stands tall and his performances are steeped with realism and authenticity. He also loves narrative driven pieces where he can showcase his humour and more emotive storytelling abilities. His commercial work he has directed all over the world include clients such as Under Armour, UEFA, Asics, Gatorade, Peloton, Volkswagen, BMW and The European Union.
He has been recognised by the Webby Awards, the Clio’s, as well as the Art Directors Club Award in Germany and AICP. His short film ‘Wave’ which TJ also starred in was picked up by The New Yorker after winning an Irish Film and Television Award for Best Short. Wave has played at 75 festivals and picked up numerous awards along the way.
His latest short film ‘Silence’ had its world premiere at Tribeca 2021 and TJ was the recipient of the Bingham Ray Talent Award at the Galway Film Fleadh. ‘Silence’ was also nominated for an Irish Film and Television Award 2022.
"I’m really excited to have a really strong and talented female director like Fern on our roster. Her energy and enthusiasm is electric and I feel she brings that in abundance with her creativity to her work. I’m also delighted to continue the Motherland tradition of supporting and representing Irish talent like TJ O’Grady-Peyton. He has made a name for himself internationally working with big global brands and I would really love to see him get the recognition that he deserves for his talent here on home ground too" said Mags Levingstone, head of production at Motherland.
"We look forward to collaborating with both Fern and TJ on many exciting projects in the future."
Motherland is best known internationally for its emotive storytelling and award-winning commercials and films. In Ireland it has worked with the biggest agencies in the country. Motherland have recently produced the IFTA (Irish Film & Television Academy) nominated feature documentary, Love Yourself Today, which screened in theatres across the UK and Ireland last year.
They also represent a host of international directing talent, such as Rachel Carey (‘Deadly Cuts’, The highest grossing Irish film of 2021), Kathryn Ferguson (‘Nothing Compares’), commercial directors Finn Keenan (Lionsgate, Just Eat, Discord and Nike) and POB (Sky, Allianz and Jameson) along with emerging talents like Sam McGrath, Hugh Mulhern, Ellius Grace and Tara O’Callaghan.
