Flying High, Longlist - Commercial

Nike, Dream With Us

Aoife McArdle

Somesuch

Aoife McArdle’s work has a youthful, freewheeling spirit – deeply felt and rich with detail. As VICE wrote in their coverage of her debut feature film, “Nobody does young and reckless better than Aoife McArdle.” Aoife began her career directing music videos, picking up a UKMVA in 2013 for her breakout video ‘Open Eye Signal’ for Jon Hopkins. She went on to direct a powerful short film for U2’s ‘Every Breaking Wave’, which followed a close-knit gang of skinheads during the Irish Troubles. Widely celebrated, the film brought her eye back to Ireland, which became the setting for her first feature-length narrative film. In 2017, Aoife released this debut, 'Kissing Candice', a dreamy adolescent fantasy set on the Irish border. The film screened at the Toronto and Berlinale Film Festivals. In the same year, she was listed as one of Campaign’s top ten directors. She has also gained recognition for her stylish commercials, including ‘From Confusion to Clarity’ for confused.com. In 2018, her ‘Equal Love’ commercial for Absolut won a Graphite Pencil for Best Direction at the D&AD Awards. Aoife has won several Cannes Lions and British Arrows. In 2019, Aoife directed ‘Dream With Us’ for Nike, starring the American Women’s Football team, and ‘Live The Game’ for PlayStation. More recently, Aoife directed ‘Trouble In Town’ for Coldplay, an Orwellian indictment of political chaos and systematic racism in the USA. She is originally from Omagh in Northern Ireland and is currently based in Hastings, England.