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Kneecap

Directed by Rich Peppiatt
2023
Ireland, UK
105 minutes
Unclassified 18+
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Rich Peppiatt’s raucous, rude and riotously entertaining comedy stars three real-life Belfast rappers as themselves – and Michael Fassbender. Audience Award, Sundance NEXT strand.

Peppiatt’s powerfully political comedy-drama about the survival of the Irish language is something of a miracle movie. Where else in the world could the legacy of trauma produce such hilarity and crowd-pleasing entertainment? Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh and Naoise Ó Cairealláin play themselves wonderfully in the origin story of their Belfast rap group Kneecap. We first meet them in the 2010s as drug-selling besties. More importantly, they’re staunch patriots who speak Irish as an act of cultural maintenance, and in defiance of British imperialism. When nerdy music teacher JJ Ó Dochartaigh enters the scene, he encourages the lads to turn their notebook scribblings into highly charged polemical rap songs (and becomes their DJ). What follows is a rowdy and cheerfully rude showbiz story following the trio through drug-hazed nights and clear-eyed days, as their music begins to impact the broader community while inevitably angering authorities. Subversive, sexy, unfiltered, and with a significant supporting role for Michael Fassbender, this freewheeling and finger-flipping music biopic hits all the right notes.

Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.
The film’s infectious energy, use of in-camera effects, animation and all manner of jiggery pokery is as mesmerizing and giddy as it was when Danny Boyle used many of the same tricks for Trainspotting
Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter
As amusing as it is thought-provoking, Kneecap concerns the passing of the baton in an ongoing battle for the salvation of the Irish language, and of Irish sovereignty in turn
Carlos Aguilar, Variety
Rich Peppiatt’s Irish language hip-hop origin story is big, booming, and fearless
Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com

Tickets

Fri 14 Jun
8:45pm
State Theatre
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Past Event Cancel
Sat 15 Jun
11:30am
State Theatre
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Past Event Cancel
Sun 16 Jun
4:15pm
Ritz Randwick - Cinema 1
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Past Event Cancel
Program Strand
Official Competition
Year
2023
Classification
Unclassified 18+
Country
Ireland, UK
Language
In English and Irish Gaelic with English subtitles
Director
Rich Peppiatt
Producer
Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling
Cast
Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, Michael Fassbender
Screenwriter
Rich Peppiatt
Cinematographer
Ryan Kernaghan
Editor
Chris Gill, Julian Ulrichs
Premiere
Australian Premiere
Genre
Comedies, Festival Award Winners, Off-Beat, Music
Company Credits
Australian Distributor: Madman Entertainment
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