A keen photographer since childhood, Kelly began to photograph some of the other bands he came into contact with as a musician. He took up film making as an extension to this photography work initially directing music promo videos for bands including
Saint Etienne, Hal, Cherry Ghost and
The Magic Numbers. In 2002 he was asked by Saint Etienne to collaborate on a film project they were planning to accompany their album
Finisterre. Described in
The Observer as a “cinematic hymn to London”, it premiered at the ICA in London and was screened around the world by onedotzero. In 2005 he and Saint Etienne were invited by
The Barbican to create a film and music event to be premiered in the main auditorium. The result was
What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day?, a drama-documentary set in the
Lower Lea Valley, the proposed site for the
2012 Olympic Games. Following the premiere, Kelly, along with producer Andrew Hinton and Saint Etienne were invited by
Jude Kelly to become artists-in-residence at London's South Bank Centre. This one year appointment culminated with the premiere of their 2007 film
This Is Tomorrow which included a live performance of the soundtrack by the band, accompanied by a 60-piece orchestra in front of a sell out crowd in the newly refurbished Royal Festival Hall. Kelly has completed a six-year documentary about
Felt,
Denim and Go-Kart Mozart front man
Lawrence entitled
Lawrence Of Belgravia which premiered at the 2011 London Film Festival. Kelly and Saint Etienne collaborated again on
How We Used to Live (2014), which has been described as "a cherishable, woozy-hazy trawl of London from postwar days to yuppiedom". ==Selected discography==