Rich Peppiatt’s Irish comedy about sex, drugs, and hip hop was screened in the Horizons section at the 58th edition of the Karlovy Vary film festival. From the very first screening, it was met with overwhelming audience enthusiasm and was long at the top of voting for the festival’s Audience Award. Czech cinemagoers would certainly have enjoyed the film as much as festival audiences, but Kneecap has unfortunately not been picked up for distribution. There is one place to see it, however – on KVIFF.TV. With a subscription, you see the film for just CZK 55, plus you’ll have access to hundreds of other films from our library.
Kneecap, the true story behind the founding of the eponymous Northern Irish hip-hop group who proudly promote the Irish language, is predicted to attain a similar cult status as its predecessors This Is Spinal Tap and Trainspotting. The film took this year’s Sundance festival by storm, where it won the Audience Award. “Every word of Irish spoken is a bullet fired for Irish freedom,” is the slogan resolutely held by the likeably irreverent trio with very clear political views. A riveting ride with generous room for vices of all kinds, the film will delight audiences among other things thanks to the presence of well-known actor Michael Fassbender.
“I encountered them just going to one of their gigs. Not since Rage Against the Machine had I seen a band who felt so overtly political. And I’d never seen so many people go so crazy for a band. When I was trying to raise money for the film, they’d all ask, ‘Can the band act?’ I said, ‘They’re great actors, they’re brilliant, but when we finally got down to running the lines it was quite apparent that they couldn’t really act,” the film’s director says when he thinks back on how they got started. Kneecap went on to be selected as Ireland’s entry for the Academy Awards. According to Variety, it has a good chance of making it among the five nominees in the category of Best International Feature Film. Good luck!
https://kviff.tv/catalog/kneecap
