Helen Downing
DIRECTOR
Helen Downing is a commercial director known for capturing food like you taste it—rich, tactile, and impossible to ignore. Her work lives in the space where appetite meets emotion, translating flavour into feeling through carefully observed detail and an instinctive sense of rhythm.
With a deep love of food and film, her work sits at the intersection of lifestyle and appetite, with a style rooted in stories told through light and texture, translating flavour into feeling through texture, light, and intimate human moments. From the tear of bread to hands gathered at a table, she elevates the everyday into sensory, story-led worlds that feel warm, lived-in, and craveable.
Specialising in food and lifestyle commercials, Helen brings a cinematic approach to storytelling, balancing wide, atmospheric scenes with rich macro detail. With years of experience directing presenters, actors, and musicians, her work celebrates the joy of preparing and sharing food, often blurring the line between narrative, performance, and brand world-building. She has directed visually distinctive campaigns for brands including M&S, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Morrisons, Carte D’Or, and Walkers, to comedic scenes for Christmas campaigns.
Her work celebrates the joy of friends and family, often with the delight of preparing and sharing food, presenting scenes which feel uniquely atmospheric and warmly authentic, creating films that connect instantly and linger well beyond the final frame.
