Elaine, a jaded cabaret performance artist, leaves behind an unfaithful fiancee and embarks on an impressionistic adventure in search of a life. The ‘girl from nowhere’ travels by train, moped, ferry, taxi and plane, wandering the crowded streets of New York City, immersing herself in the art and history of Paris, and reconnecting with her storytelling heritage in Ireland.

This art film/romantic comedy is also a journey into new and unfamiliar territory for Eliza Berry, who has moved on from a two-year stint directing commercials (as well as a number of shorts) to explore the world of feature films.

Currently in post-production on La Femme, Berry says the skills she sharpened in commercial work (at The Directors Film Company and Partners’) were instrumental in easing the transition to feature work.

‘I am very clear on the message in my film, and it was the commercials, where you have only 30 seconds, that taught me how to communicate in the most effective way,’ explains Berry, who also wrote the script for La Femme.

The challenge of constantly making an advertising spot come alive made her keenly aware of the creativity required to keep audiences hooked. ‘Making the mundane magic is what commercials are about, grabbing people’s attention,’ says Berry. ‘I mean, how do you make a box of cheese noodles sing?’

‘Commercials definitely enhanced my people and managerial skills,’ explains Barry, who shot three weeks in Paris and Ireland with dop Jim Scott and two weeks in Manhattan with Horacio Marquinez. ‘They are probably one of the most collaborative efforts that you can possibly undertake. It’s an intense training ground for communicating with other creative people.’

Berry says the biggest difference she noticed between directing commercials and her feature came down to the financial bottom line. ‘I could have made one Lipton Cup-a-Soup commercial with the same money we spent on my entire feature,’ she jokes of her limited film budget. ‘Commercials give you the luxury of playing with all the toys and not worrying about the money.’

But Berry enjoyed the challenges of working within the parameters of a tight budget. ‘Sometimes money can be seen as a Band-Aid, and not having the money pushed my creative limits,’ she says. ‘Obstacles became opportunities.’

But no matter how inventive one is, an independent filmmaker has to be adept at scrounging up cash. This is an area where Berry’s commercial contacts were an asset. Her feature is a coproduction between her own company, Theatre Boot Camp, and The Gang Films, a commercial production house in Paris that was familiar with her commercial work, calling her spots ‘individual and groundbreaking.’

Diane McArter, a former executive producer at The Directors Film Company who went on to run her own commercial production house, was a mentor to Berry and taught her some sound business lessons and the womanly art of negotiation. Commercials also helped Berry hone the art of the pitch. ‘For a Big, Bold and Beautiful spot (for which she won a ’96 Bessie) I had to help the creative sell the idea to the client. I learned that you have to stay focused in negotiations and keep your eye on the prize – the clear expression of your creative vision without compromise.’

Berry remains indebted to her roots in commercial production. ‘Commercials gave me a great start,’ she says. ‘They really allowed me the luxury to experiment. They were a launching pad into the world of features and I would say to anyone in the commercial world, have the courage to go ahead and follow your dreams.’