‘Kissing Candice’ to Premiere at Berlin International Film Festival

Kissing Candice has been officially selected for the world-renowned Berlin International Film Festival next month where the film will screen in the Generation strand of the festival. A visceral and thrilling coming of age drama, Kissing Candice is Aoife McArdle’s debut feature film.

Both written and directed by McArdle, the film stars the IFTA-nominated Ann Skelly as Candice, a 17-year-old who longs to escape the boredom of her seaside town, only finding solace in her vivid imagination. When a boy she dreams about (played by Ryan Lincoln,Cardboard Gangsters) turns up in real life, she becomes increasingly entangled with a dangerous local gang.

Speaking about the festival selection, McArdle said: “Berlinale is such a bold, beautiful festival. It’s a huge honour to have our European premiere there.”

The Generation strand of the festival integrates youth into the festival’s film-aesthetic discourse. Previous Irish films to have been selected for this strand in the past include Mark Noonan’s You’re Ugly Too and Tomm Moore’s The Secret of Kells.

Kissing Candice was shot on location in Dublin, Louth and Wicklow and had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last September. It’s the feature film debut from award-winning music video director Aoife McArdle and was produced by Andrew Freedman of Venom Films (His & Hers, Kelly & Victor, Mom & Me) and Sally Campbell of Somesuch with funding through the Irish Film Board’s Catalyst Scheme.