Kneecap’s debut feature film was shown at Sundance Film Festival last night, becoming the first Irish-language film to feature on the festival programme.
All you need to know about the Kneecap film
- Kneecap’s debut feature film was shown at Sundance Film Festival last night, becoming the first Irish-language film to feature on the festival programme.
- Who stars in the Kneecap film?
- Kneecap at Sundance?
- What are the Sundance critics saying about the film?
- How did Kneecap promote the film at Sundance?
- Clips from the Kneecap film
- Any news on distribution of the film?
- Who produced the Kneecap film?
- Cast and Crew
- Sundance Festival Screenings:
- Kneecap America tour dates
- ‘Better Way To Live’ is the band’s latest single on Heavenly Recordings featuring Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C.
Who stars in the Kneecap film?
The film, directed by Rich Peppiatt stars the band’s Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí in their acting debuts. The film tells a partly fictional story of the West Belfast’s band’s formation, against the backdrop of escalating protests advocating for the preservation of the Irish language in Northern Ireland.
It also stars Michael Fassbender (The Killer, Inglorious Basterds, 12 Years a Slave), along with Simone Kirby (Hidden Assets, Jimmy’s Hall) and Josie Walker (Belfast, The Wonder).
Fassbender plays the absentee republican dad of Móglaí Bap.
Kneecap at Sundance?
B'fhéidir go bhfuil an Ghaeilge cúláilte, b'fhéidir nach bhfuil agus ar bhealach is cuma.
— Osgur Ó Ciardha (@OsgurOCiardha) January 19, 2024
Ach tá @KNEECAPCEOL ar an gcairpéad dearg i Sundance níos tábhachtaí don teanga ná Paul Mescal. https://t.co/63xLyHIxS2
KNEECAP is the first non-US film to ever be selected for the NEXT section of the festival. The festival describes selections for this section as “pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to story-telling”. The film is writer/director Rich Peppiatt’s first live-action feature following his award-winning satirical documentary One Rogue Reporter.
What are the Sundance critics saying about the film?
“Never mind the plot. Written and directed by Rich Peppiatt, a former journalist who created the salty 2014 satire One Rogue Reporter, Kneecap works best as a collage of digs at contemporary Northern/North of Ireland woven in with a touching treatise on why the Irish language matters. There is more thesis and antithesis here than expected. “Every word of Irish spoken is a bullet for Irish freedom,” we hear early on, but by the close the boys wonder if they still want words to be weapons.
Those who baulk at the hoary “It’s the way it’s taught” explanation for the language’s limited penetration will have mixed feelings about scenes of students being forced to recite paeans to turf cutting, but almost everyone (even Utahans) will find those scenes hilarious.”
‘The thing about Kneecap – in a significant departure from other films of its ilk – is that, playing themselves, the three leads give performances strong enough to look professional, especially reluctant band member JJ Ó Dochartaigh as a mild-mannered substitute Irish teacher turned sweary DJ. Although the film is not 100 percent factual, it is close enough to the real thing: google Kneecap for full details of the band’s origins myriad controversies and antics, all fully provoked and relished.”
Screendaily, Fionnuala Halligan
“Kneecap” is an audacious film that completely obliterates the expectations of the musical biopic genre, all while being just as silly and weird as the media that lampoons it. It’s an act of pure delinquency that miraculously also inspires.
The Wrap
In the rest of the movie, “Trainspotting” is an obvious reference point, and although there’s no “worst toilet in Scotland” gag, there are some pretty dodgy sinks. The film’s sense of humor is firmly Waititian (for better and worse), with a couple of razor-sharp quips about getting “blown like a Brighton hotel” and concert tickets “selling out like Michael Collins.” Flippant, yes, but deadly serious about where it’s coming from.
Indiewire, Adam Solomons
“After pushing up against the confines of a conventional musical biopic, it does end up mostly operating within them, hitting all the notes you’d expect it to hit, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t ring mostly true when it counts. Will it be remembered as one of the greatest rap movies ever made? Probably not. But is it an engaging enough movie about this specific rap group with the impact they’ve had? In this case, yes. At the very least, it is a film that isn’t afraid to bare its ass to make its message about music and the language that makes it heard.”
It’s only mid Jan, but KNEECAP is already my fave film of 2024. Great chatting to @richpeppiatt about his wild & ketamine-fuelled biopic(ish). Can’t wait to read about the reaction in Sundance (and hear what @KNEECAPCEOL get up to out there — I hear they’re taking a police van) https://t.co/8wI7twQCKY
— Alex Ritman (@alexritman) January 17, 2024
How did Kneecap promote the film at Sundance?
Sundance in an armoured Land Rover… pic.twitter.com/mhuvgBdTfv
— Daniel Lambert (@dlLambo) January 19, 2024
The band promotion for the film at Sundance involved a PSNI-style vehicle out of place in the snowy Utah town, and the band were present at the festival’s premiere.
Writer / director Rich Peppiatt said:
“When I first set out to make a film in a language I didn’t speak, set in a place I’m not from, little could I have imagined four years later we would be introducing Kneecap the movie to the world at the Mecca of Independent cinema. It’s an honour to be breaking new ground for Irish language cinema with a film that surprises & provokes every bit as much as Kneecap’s music.”
Kneecap said ahead of the premiere:
“We are buzzing to be premiering at Sundance. Wherever we go we aim to smash preconceptions about cultural identity, language and highlight the role of the working classes to overthrow oppressive power. To now bring this message from the streets of West Belfast to the big screen is f*cking excellent. We’re immensely proud of the film and can’t wait to get it to cinemas around the world.”
Clips from the Kneecap film
Smashing the glass and setting the dodo free!
— Wildcard Distribution (@WildCardDistrib) January 17, 2024
KNEECAP premieres tomorrow at the @sundancefest – the festivals first Irish language feature.
Check out this sneak peak from the film👇@KNEECAPCEOL #Sundance pic.twitter.com/krPCLBEOPE
Any news on distribution of the film?
Sony Pictures has acquired the rights to the film according to Variety, for to the title for North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Middle East.
Who produced the Kneecap film?
KNEECAP was produced by Jack Tarling and Trevor Birney for Fine Point Films and Mother Tongues Films, with Patrick O’Neill at Wildcard acting as Co-Producer. Funding for the film was provided by Northern Ireland Screen, the Irish Language Broadcast Fund, Screen Ireland, the BFI (awarding National Lottery funding), Coimisiún na Meán and TG4, with backing from Great Point Media.
Cast and Crew
Directed by: Rich Peppiatt
Cast: Kneecap (Naoise Ó Cairealláin “Móglaí Bap,” JJ Ó Dochartaigh “Dj Provaí,” & Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh “Mo Chara”), Michael Fassbender
Producers: Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling
Genre: Comedy, International
Run Time: 105 minutes
Sundance Festival Screenings:
- Thursday, January 18, 9:30pm MT: World Premiere Screening (Prospector Square Theatre)
- Friday, January 19, 12:00pm MT: Press & Industry Screening (Holiday Village Cinemas 1)
- Friday, January 19, 6:15pm MT: In Person Public Screening #2 (Redstone Cinemas 7)
- Saturday, January 20, 8:15pm MT: In Person Public Screening #3 (Broadway Centre Cinemas 6)
- Wednesday, January 24, 10:15pm MT: In Person Public Screening #3 (Egyptian Theatre)
- *Also available online for the public (January 25–28) and credentialed press and industry (January 24–28).
Kneecap America tour dates
- March 18 – Foundry, Philadelphia, PA
- March 21 – Axis Club, Toronto, ON
- March 23 – Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY
- March 26 – Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver, BC
- March 28 – Barboza, Seattle, WA
- March 30 – New Parish, Oakland, CA
- April 2 – Voodoo Room, San Diego, CA
- April 4 – Echoplex, Los Angeles, CA
‘Better Way To Live’ is the band’s latest single on Heavenly Recordings featuring Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C.
