Charlie Ford

Charlie Ford is an award-winning director and photographer known for narrative-driven work that elevates the human experience. His films, commercials and music videos amplify underrepresented voices through character-led storytelling and a dreamlike visual style.

Charlie co-created and co-directed Cloudy River, a semi-autobiographical long-form series about a young pansexual couple navigating an open relationship. Funded by Queer Screen and Screen Australia, the series is distributed globally by Escapade Media and streams on SBS On Demand. This led to directing work on the 2023 reboot of Australia’s iconic series Neighbours for Amazon Prime and Fremantle.

He received two consecutive ARIA Award nominations for Best Music Video, directing for artists including Courtney Barnett and Vance Joy, with work amassing over 30 million views. This success sparked commercial collaborations with major Australian and international brands such as CommBank, Tourism Australia, BPAY, Virgin Australia, Vogue, Google, Samsung, Instagram, Telstra, NRL, NRMA and the Australian National University.

Charlie’s short film Stone, starring First Nations icon Jack Charles, was the first Swinburne University student film to screen at MIFF and later screened at the Cannes Short Film Corner. His second short, Kings, won Best Film, Best Director and Best Cinematography at the Peninsula Film Festival and screened internationally.

For the past five years, Charlie has worked closely with Indigenous organisation YARN Australia, directing the documentaries The Killings and Green Corridor, which explore the ongoing impacts of Australia’s colonial past. The films screened at the Sydney Opera House and premiered online with NOWNESS.

Alongside his moving image work, Charlie’s photography spans fine art and commercial campaigns. He has held three solo exhibitions in Melbourne and Sydney and was a finalist in the 2024 National Portrait Prize, while shooting campaigns for brands including Sushi Sushi, TAC, CommBank, Coopers and MasterFoods.

Charlie is also a co-founder of FJORD, where his distinctive visual language combines with the comedic prowess of co-director Jordana Johnson (The Moth Effect on Amazon, We Interrupt This Broadcast on Channel 7, Nice Shorts on Amazon).