Kneecap, the Irish-language biopic of the outspoken West Belfast hip-hop trio, has taken home a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.
Filmmaker Rich Peppiatt later dedicated the award to “everyone out there” fighting to “have their homeland respected.”
The win came at Sunday night’s BAFTA Film Awards, where Kneecap was nominated in six categories but walked away with just one. That didn’t stop Peppiatt from making a statement. He stood on stage at the Royal Festival Hall in London and reflected upon how the project initially came together.
“My wife convinced me to move to Belfast a decade ago,” he told the crowd. “A few weeks later, I met these lunatics, and now here we are.”
“Kneecap is more than a film,” he continued. “It’s a movement, and it’s about how everyone should have their language respected. They should have their culture respected, and they should have their homeland respected. And so this award is dedicated to everyone out there who’s fighting that fight.”
The film follows the origins of Kneecap, a rap trio known as much for their sharp political edge as their chaotic energy. Set in post-Troubles Belfast, the dark comedy follows a pair of low-level drug dealers who, after a drug-fuelled creative breakthrough, form the band alongside a schoolteacher. It’s a surreal, no-holds-barred take on their real-life rise, blending fiction, reality, and anarchy in equal measure.
Kneecap had also been long-listed for an Oscar, though it unfortunately did not make the final cut. The band’s response? A simple tweet back: “Fuck the Oscars. Free Palestine.”
While the biggest winners at the BAFTAs were Conclave and The Brutalist, which each picked up four awards, Kneecap’s victory stood out. Not just for the win, but for the germane statement that came with it.
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