Entertainment

Kneecap wins top British Independent Film Award and six other gongs

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3 days ago

December 8, 2024

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Kneecap wins top British Independent Film Award and six other gongs

Getty Images Kneecap at 2024 BIFAs - left to right Móglaí Bap in black Lacoste zip jacket, Mo Chara in a cream jacket with hood up, wearing a black snapback and pointing at camera, and DJ Próvaí in black jacket and green white and orange tricolour balaclava — Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara and DJ Próvaí attended the awards on Sunday

Irish-language film Kneecap has won seven British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), including the top honor – Best British Independent Film.

Kneecap, which is based on a semi-fictionalised account of how the west Belfast rap trio was formed, also took Best Debut Screenwriter for Rich Peppiatt and Best Joint Lead for trio Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh.

The film dominated the awards with 14 nominations.

The winners of the 27th British Independent Film Awards were announced during a ceremony in London’s Roundhouse on Sunday evening.

‘A lot of people related to it’

On the red carpet, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, better known as Móglaí Bap, explained why he thought the film had resonated with audiences.

“There’s a lot of people who suffered under imperialism and colonialism and a lot of people see themselves in the story of it,” he said.

“Minority languages, minority cultures getting their shake at the stake.”

Bandmate Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh (Mo Chara), said: “We thought it was a film about the Irish language, but languages that have been oppressed is an international story and a lot of people related to it.”

Minority groups, such as Native Americans and Aboriginal Australians, “can see themselves in the story”, he added.

Director Rich Peppiatt was awarded Best Debut Screenwriter

Getty Kneecap members, carrying Rich Peppiatt who is dressed in a navy suit, on red carpet at 2024 BIFAs — Director Rich Peppiatt was awarded Best Debut Screenwriter

Director Rich Peppiatt said when he first met the band “they weren’t signed and rapping in a language not many people spoke”.

“It didn’t really scream, you know, big movie potential… but there was something that just connected,” he said.

“Their approach to promoting indigenous language and culture was something that I just thought was a really important message.”

What awards has the film won?

Best British Independent Film supported by ScreenUK
Best Debut Screenwriter (Peppiatt)
Best Joint Lead (Óg Ó Hannaidh, Ó Cairealláin and Ó Dochartaigh)
Best Casting
Best Editing (Julian Ulrichs and Chris Gill)
Original Music (Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante)
Best Music Supervision (Gary Welch and Jeanette Rehnstrom)

The film, which also stars Michael Fassbender, was released to critical acclaim

Getty Images Film critic Carlos Aguilar, writer / director Rich Peppiatt, and actors Móglaí Bap and DJ Provái attend the Film Independent Special Screening of "Kneecap" at AMC Century City 15 on July 22, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

The group are sat at the front of a cinema, with a large Kneecap film poster behind them, and audience full of spectators — The film, which also stars Michael Fassbender, was released to critical acclaim

Rap group Kneecap was formed in 2017 by three friends who go by the stage names of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí.

The three-piece have faced disapproval for their politically-charged lyrics and ease with controversy – they’ve previously admitted they like “to get people riled up”.

The idea for a film was first conceived in 2019 when director Rich Peppiatt watched the group perform in Belfast.

Filmed in Belfast and Dundalk, Peppiatt previously told BBC News NI: “It’s definitely more controversial than the usual movies that come out of Northern Ireland.”

Set in west Belfast in 2019, the film is a dramatised, comedic account of how the group was formed.

Dublin-based creative agency The Tenth Man teamed up with Kneecap to design their arrival vehicle for the film’s premiere at Sundance Film Festival in January

James Clarke Kneecap members on top of a white land rover, modified to look like a PSNI vehicle, with Kneecap graffiti... two bandmates are sat on the roof letting off green white and orange flares as they pull up to a deco-style Egyptian cinema in Utah, signs advertising Sundance Film Festival are visible and the ground has some snow on it — Dublin-based creative agency The Tenth Man teamed up with Kneecap to design their arrival vehicle for the film’s premiere at Sundance Film Festival in January

It became the first Irish-language film to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the NEXT audience award.

The film met rave reviews upon its premiere, external with The Hollywood Reporter describing it as “gleefully irreverent”.

The Irish Film & Television Academy has selected Kneecap to represent Ireland in the International Feature Film category at the upcoming 97th annual Academy Awards.