Irish language film Kneecap has won big at the Galway Film Fleadh.
The film, set in West Belfast in 2019, chronicles how fate brought rap trio Kneecap together and how they then go on to “change the sound of Irish music forever”.
It won three major awards at the festival – Best Irish Film and Best Irish Language Film, as well as the Audience Award.
Writer and director Rich Peppiatt said that the festival is “something we’ll never forget.”
“For a film as dyed in the tricolour as Kneecap, the Irish premiere was always going to be special and the audiences in Galway have blown us away,” he said, as reported by RTÉ.
“To be honoured in the way we have at this beautiful festival is something we’ll never forget. Go raibh míle maith agat the Fleadh.”
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Kneecap had its world premiere at the renowned Sundance Film Festival in Utah earlier this summer.
Speaking about the world premiere, 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 added: “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.”
Kneecap will be released in cinemas on August 8.
