It’s been a big week for the KNEECAP film.
Over the weekend KNEECAP director Rich Peppiatt won the BAFTA award for ‘Outstanding Debut.’
We wanted to congratulate Rich on being a true visionary and bringing this group’s story to life.
On accepting his award, Rich embodied the very essence of KNEECAP’s cultural impact:
“Wow, I’m absolutely honoured to be standing here. It was 15 years ago that I actually met my wife and a decade later she convinced me to move to Belfast.
Within two weeks of moving to Belfast I met KNEECAP and now I’m standing here. It’s weird how life works like that.
“𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐏 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨’𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.”
Rich’s cultural contribution via this film and it’s message, has been widely recognised with notable accolades (Ifta’s, BIFA, Sundance, London Films Critics choice), the recognition of which is entirely justified.
Bravo!
• WATCH HIS BAFTA AWARD ACCEPTANCE SPEECH HERE •
The Film was awarded x4 IFTA Awards alongside The Sundance Next Audience Award, x7 BIFA awards, x3 Galway Film Festival awards and chosen as the London Film Critics ‘breakthrough film’ of the year.
• WATCH THE FILM ON AMAZON PRIME (UK) | WATCH THE FILM ON NETFLIX (US) • PURCHASE THE MOVIE DVD •
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The Kneecap Film Soundtrack was released digitally Friday 30th August 2024 and physically on 28th February, 2025.
• PRE-ORDER THE SOUNDTRACK VINYL OR CD HERE •
Featuring tracks from Kneecap, Fontaines DC, Bicep and Orbital alongside the Mikey J original score.
“For any language to survive it must be alive in music”
– Móglaí Bap –
With a string of glowing reviews and a stack of awards and nominations already behind it, the Irish-language film is one of the most talked-about movie releases of the last year.
The soundtrack features tracks from the trio themselves alongside Bicep, Fontaines DC, Orbital plus the film’s incidental music composed by Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante MBE interspersed with snippets of the film’s dialogue from Academy Award winning cast members Michael Fassbender, Simone Kirby and Josie Walker as well as a cameo from Gerry Adams.
The KNEECAP Film Soundtrack features tracks from the band’s own catalogue from 2017 through to their debut album Fine Art. Their story began with the release of their first single C.E.A.R.T.A (Irish for ‘rights’), which was quickly banned by Irish language radio station RTE (as seen in the film) for ‘drug referencing and cursing’. This was the track that helped Kneecap usher Irish into the modern era thanks to some much needed creativity with the terminology.
The soundtrack features their hi-octane early hits ‘H.O.O.D’ and ‘Guilty Conscience’ and follows the band right through to the creation of their critically acclaimed debut album Fine Art which was produced by Toddla T and released in 2024 via Heavenly Recordings. Tracks from Fine Art that feature on the soundtrack include guest appearances from Lankum’s Radie Peat on ‘3CAG’ and Fontaines DC’s frontman Grian Chatten on ‘Better Way To Live’. Traditional Irish music in the soundtrack comes from The Bonny Men and present day duo Absolute Lilt, alongside modern tunes from Irish hit makers Fontaines DC and Dirty Faces.As the band noted in an interview with DJ Magazine, Belfast was a huge inspiration for the soundtracks sound and pivotal moments in the movie too: “Obviously our own songs are important to the film but you can’t not think of Belfast when you hear a track like ‘Glue’ by Bicep,” says Móglaí Bap. “It’s fucking iconic. Then there’s ‘Belfast’ by Orbital, which has always been a next-level song. That’s when it really gets euphoric. It’s played over a scene where my ma in the film got ready to leave the house for the first time in ages, so it makes me a little emotional.” A soundtrack that features several tracks synonymous with the city’s electronic legacy guarantees goosebumps – whether you’re based in West Belfast, West London, or elsewhere.
