Antidote – For Your Consideration

It is early December and, in a normal year, things might be simmering down for Christmas. But this isn’t a normal year. And for Andrew Freedman, founder of Dublin-based production company Antidote, the pace has recently been “manic” and exciting. Plenty of shooting, some lively opportunities for pitching and on top of that, he’s navigating what he describes as “slightly new territory” for a commercial production house: a serious run at the Oscars.

While the team has been busy servicing and delivering major campaigns, they’re also anxiously awaiting the Academy’s shortlists on December 16th. They have two horses in the race. ‘Sanatorium’, a documentary directed by Gar O’Rourke, has been selected as Ireland’s official entry for the International Feature category. Meanwhile, ‘Retirement Plan’, a short film by director John Kelly, is tipped to be a top contender for Best Animated Short.

The Origin Story

For Andrew, this collision of high-end commercial service and high-art acclaim isn’t an accident; it’s the design of the business. When Andrew met his business partner Ken Wardrop at the National Film School in Dún Laoghaire 20 years ago, their passion was documentary. 

Their short film, ‘Undressing My Mother’, swept the board at festivals, winning a European Film Academy Award and taking home a prize at Sundance.

Buoyed by this critical acclaim, they launched Venom to focus on feature documentaries. Their debut feature, ‘His and Hers’, broke box office records in Ireland and secured another win at Sundance. Yet, despite the accolades, the financial realities of the film industry were stark. “We initially started making commercials because it was difficult to make money in film,” Andrew admits. “We set up Antidote as that kind of cure to the venom,” Andrew explains. “We’d make money in ads and lose it again in film”.

Antidote wasn’t an overnight success. Andrew recalls the Irish production circuit at the time as “impenetrable,” with agencies and clients justifiably wary of unproven newcomers. However, the economic recession created cracks in that closed shop, allowing Antidote to find opportunities and build trust.

Two decades later, that symbiotic relationship has matured. The “cure” and the “poison” are no longer separate entities but a fluid creative engine, where commercial directors flex their muscles in film, and documentary sensibilities bring a raw, emotional edge to their advertising work.

The directors on Antidote’s roster often move with ease between the two worlds. A prime example is Johnny Kelly, whose dual identity is practically codified: he uses the name ‘John’ for his film projects and ‘Johnny’ for his commercial work – stunning projects such as the Cannes Lion Film Grand Prix winning ‘Back to the Start’ for Chipotle.

This unique setup allows Antidote to offer something distinct in the commercial market: a roster of filmmakers who are constantly sharpening their storytelling claws on long-form projects, documentaries, and narrative shorts.

The Oscar Contenders

That crossover is currently bearing fruit in spectacular fashion. This year, the studio is championing two serious contenders for Academy Awards.

In the animated short category is John/Johnny’s ‘Retirement Plan’. Andrew describes the collaboration as a “no-brainer” given the director’s consistent track record of amazing work. The film, which features the voice of Domnhall Gleeson, has been “going down really well” on the festival circuit. While Andrew notes that the Oscar race is often influenced by PR and marketing budgets from giants like Netflix and A24 , ‘Retirement Plan’ has captured imaginations and is consistently appearing in top prediction lists. Andrew calls it a “nice little reminder of everything” in a world where it is easy to get caught up in work.

On the feature documentary side is ‘Sanatorium’, directed by Gar O’Rourke – a filmmaker who actually used to work at Antidote as a producer and creative. The film was produced in partnership with 23/32, a commercial service company in Kyiv, Ukraine. Production began before the war; when the invasion started, the team feared the project was over. To their surprise, the sanatorium remained open, enriching the story significantly.

For Andrew, continuing that partnership during the conflict was about more than just finishing a film; it provided vital funding and employment for the local Ukrainian team and crew at a critical time. Now, selected as Ireland’s official entry for the International Feature category, the film stands as a testament to that resilience.

Navigating the Oscar race is, Andrew admits, “slightly new territory”. The independent sector faces a steep financial challenge when competing against the massive promotional budgets of the major streamers and studios. Yet, regardless of the outcome on shortlist day, the mere fact that a Dublin production house is in the conversation serves as a powerful validation of their “labours of love”.

The Commercial Engine

While the Oscar buzz provides the glamour, the engine room of the business has been running hot. Andrew notes that Antidote has seen year-on-year growth in its advertising work for the last four years, with 2025 being the busiest yet. Unlike previous years where work might have relied on one or two main sources, this influx has come from “nearly all the agencies” in Dublin, a sign of a broadening base of trust.

This commercial success is built on variety. Andrew highlights a recent launch campaign for AIB, an “epic project” shot across Prague and Ireland involving heavy post production. Directed by Nono Ayuso, it pushed the visual boundaries of the brief. 

Conversely, for An Post, the studio was trusted with an entire year’s worth of campaigns, shooting three sizable ads under one thematic umbrella directed by Ben Liam Jones.

Some work  bridges the gap between the two worlds. ‘Guinness Fanfare’, directed by Venom co-founder Ken Wardrop, sits in the “doc bracket”, telling the story of a device that allows blind rugby fans to follow the game. Andrew argues that documentaries have become "highly relevant" precisely because of the rise of AI. He believes that in a synthetic world, audiences crave the "truest kind of formats" dealing with reality and emotion. It’s a trend LBB has seen playing out in certain brands moving away from TVCs towards documentaries proving that they’re doing real-life projects like this.

Andrew attributes this consistency to a hands-on production philosophy. In a market where clients have to be cautious with their marketing spend and agencies are dedicated to keeping their clients happy, he believes the producer must be a vocal creative partner.

“I’m bursting a lot of bubbles,” he says of the pre-production process, noting that he often has to address the reality of a script early on. “I do think that that’s always appreciated because an agency often can’t do that.” By offering honest creative views and managing expectations, Antidote aims to protect the craft, ensuring that even in a production-heavy year, the quality remains high.

Passionate About the Craft

Ultimately, this surge in activity – both at the Oscars and in the ad breaks – comes down to a simple ethos. Andrew is keen to distinguish Antidote not just by its output, but by its attitude. Rather than winning jobs from their agency friends at the bar, Andrew is keen to emphasise that the team put the graft into every production,“passionately care about craft” and prefer to “let the work do the talking.” It’s clear that this interview is slightly out of his comfort zone.

For Andrew, the joy of the job – even after 20 years and “hundreds, if not thousands, of commercials” – remains in the problem-solving. He views his role not just as logistics, but as that of a “creative producer working with the director and the team to try and find really clever solutions.” It’s about stripping away the noise to ensure that, at the end of the year, they can look at a project and “show it off proudly”. 

He’s a producer’s producer. He mentions a current job involving a "really complicated motion control camera rig" that they are trying to figure out. Tricky. “That's all part of the fun of it, isn't it?" he says. "I absolutely love it."

Andrew is very much not alone in that passion. Paula Stewart, who Andrew admits "actually does 99% of the actual work" is one of the team members critical to Antidote's operation. After nine years at the company now she leads the team.

As the industry faces a “very uncertain time” globally, Andrew is pragmatic about the road ahead. “It’s an unpredictable market,” he admits, with a knowing nod to the AI-shaped elephant in the room. So he’s grateful for the current workload. But while others may be winding down for Christmas, Antidote is leaning into the momentum deep into December.

“It’s a good place to be,” he says of the current ‘manic’ period. “We just try and keep pushing.”​