‘Kissing Candice,’ directed by Trinity alumnus Aoife McArdle, was released in cinemas on Friday, marking the English and Film graduate’s feature debut.
The film follows 17-year-old Candice, whose fixation with a stranger leads her to become embroiled in a local gang. It has been described by the Times as “stunning” and by Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian as an “audacious delight”.
Reacting to the Guardian’s review, McArdle tweeted that she “[c]an’t argue with that”. The director went on to thank the production’s “wonderful supporters, actors and crew”.
The film originally premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and subsequently selected for the 2018 Berlinale.
The Omagh native is also an award-winning music video director, having worked with Bryan Ferry and James Vincent McMorrow. She was nominated for Best Director at the UK Music Video Awards in 2015 for her work directing the music video for U2’s “Every Breaking Wave”.
The director has also built up a portfolio of work in directing advertisements, having worked with Honda, Samsung and Under Armour. She also directed a Super Bowl ad for Audi which went viral, amassing over 12 million views on YouTube.
