They launches Katie Pascoe, a performance-first director with cinematic taste
Over the past year, Katie Pascoe has steadily built a body of performance-driven work at They. First for the trendy burger brand Brash, then a fast-turnaround Pick n Pay x Springboks spot, followed by a slate of KFC social films. What a way to say “Hello ad land!”
They director Grant de Sousa says, “Katie has a sharp eye for detail and a strong sense of taste, but what really sets her apart is how she builds performances. She creates considered, performance-led work that feels confident and controlled.”
Katie directs with a strong focus on performance and detail. That edge comes from an acting background, training in New York before moving into film in Los Angeles, where performance-led work was always the focus. She later moved into researching and working as a director’s assistant inside production companies, most recently at They, where she’s grown into directing alongside the directors she supports. Working side by side with experienced filmmakers, and refining her visual style through research, has shaped how she approaches the work. It’s a mix she now brings confidently to the directing chair.
Her latest work is two separate campaigns for KFC; the first a VW collab for Ogilvy Cape Town and Joburg, and the second, Valentine’s Day-themed spots for Ogilvy Joburg – all performance-led, character-driven pieces that lean confidently into comedy. (We especially lol’d at the headmaster’s sidekick, classic.)
KFC X VW ‘Frenemy’
KFC x VW ‘Headmaster’
KFC X VW ‘Lahla Mdobhe’
KFC X VW ‘Baby Naming’
“Katie’s work is driven by tone, rhythm and small emotional beats and those are the details that make performances feel natural and believable. It’s the thing people keep clocking when they work with her, and it’s quickly becoming her calling card,” says Alan Irvin, Director at They.
KFC ‘BEE Mine’
KFC ‘Head Over Heels’
KFC ‘Can’t Bear It’
Her breakout moment came with Brash, a job that required smart thinking rather than big solutions. With limited time and budget, Katie leaned hard into research, landing on a practical in-camera approach for the driving scenes that kept performance intact and the visuals convincing.
Brash ‘The Brash Effect’
Then she rolled straight onto set for Pick n Pay’s Springboks work. Turned around in just ten days and cast entirely by Katie off Instagram, the spot leans into dry, well-judged comedy that sits right on the edge between funny and awkward.
Pick n Pay ‘The Unofficial Anthem’
“Katie is a young, emerging director with taste and a strong performance instinct. She understands how productions actually work. Her prep is thorough, her treatments are reference-heavy, and she’s particular about the people she works with. Crew, chemistry and staying calm under pressure matter to her as much as the final frame,” adds Darren Gordon, Executive Producer at They.
Without a doubt, there is a lot more to come from Katie and we’re paying attention.
Wanna (s)talk some more? They’s IDIDTHAT profile and company website.
Contact They Films
Executive Producer: Darren Gordon
darren@theyfilms.com
+27 (0) 82 455 0512
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Produced by the IDIDTHAT Content Studio
Credits: Anne Hirsch (Writer) / Julie Maunder
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This editorial was commissioned by They Films.
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