Where Can I Watch BAFTA & IFTA Winner Kneecap?

Both the Irish Academy Film and Drama Awards and the British Academy Film Awards brought countless movies and celebs to the fore over the weekend, with the former honouring Irish talent in Dublin on Friday 14 February, and the latter lighting up the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday 16 February. While the likes of Conclave, Mikey Madison, Soarise Ronan and Cillian Murphy make the most headlines, there’s one Irish independent film snagging our attention: Kneecap.

At the BAFTAs, Kneecap was nominated for six awards, while it received a whopping 17 commendations across 13 IFTA categories, ultimately winning four gongs. And while the Irish-language hip-hop drama mainly missed out, some important titles were achieved: at the BAFTAs, Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for the film’s director and writer Rich Peppiatt; and at the IFTAs, Best Director.

After debuting at Sundance in January 2024 and landing in cinemas the following summer, here’s how to catch up and stream Kneecap ASAP.

How To Stream Kneecap In The UK

In the UK and Ireland, Kneecap is available to stream with a Prime Video membership. If you don’t have a subscription (£8.99/month), then the film is also available to rent or purchase here, as well as on Apple TV, the Sky Store and Curzon Home Cinema.

In the US, Kneecap is available to stream with a Netflix subscription.

What Is Kneecap About?

Kneecap chronicles the rise of a rap trio of the same name in Ireland in the late 2010s – a name they chose to reflect the infamous torture technique used during The Troubles. Set in post-Troubles Belfast, Liam and Naoise are debaucherous and disillusioned young men selling drugs and partying to pass the time. That is until they cross paths with JJ, a teacher at an Irish-language immersion school, and the three begin down a path they never saw coming. While JJ understands the power of language and culture, Liam and Naoise have the lyricism and brazeness to form a rap trio.

Naoise “Móglaí Bap” Ó Cairealláin, JJ “DJ Próvaí” Ó Dochartaigh & Liam Óg “Mo Chara” Ó Hannaidh in Kneecap. (© Curzon Film)

Is It Based On A True Story?

Yes, Kneecap is the true (if heightened) story behind the real anti-establishment, politically-charged rap trio Kneecap who rose to prominence with the release of their first single, ‘C.E.A.R.T.A.’ (‘rights’ in Irish) in line with the Irish Language Act in 2017. The trio rap in a mixture of English and Irish, and is made up of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí, which are all stage names for Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and J.J. Ó Dochartaigh. The real trio play themselves in the film.

The Cast

Kneecap’s real stars are joined by famed Irish talent to tell the trio’s origin story. The full cast includes:

• Liam Óg “Mo Chara” Ó Hannaidh as himself
• Naoise “Móglaí Bap” Ó Cairealláin as himself
• JJ “DJ Próvaí” Ó Dochartaigh as himself
• Josie Walker as Detective Ellis
• Fionnuala Flaherty as Caitlin
• Jessica Reynolds as Georgia
• Adam Best as Doyle
• Simone Kirby as Dolores Ó Cairealláin
• Michael Fassbender as Arlo Ó Cairealláin
• Marty Maguire as PSNI Officer
• Matthew Sharpe as Sean
• Cathal Mercer as Fra

Liam Óg “Mo Chara” Ó Hannaidh in Kneecap. (© Curzon Film)

Introducing Rich Peppiatt

While Kneecap missed out on its handful of film nominations over the weekend, director and writer Rich Peppiatt snagged two important gongs: the IFTA for Best Director, and the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut. Kneecap is his debut feature film, with the idea conceived when Peppiatt watched the trio perform in Belfast in 2019.

‘I think most filmmakers are familiar with those moments when they look around and say “how the hell have I ended up here, doing this?”,’ the former journalist wrote in a statement. ‘It happened to me recently. I was nowhere near a film set, but in a concert venue in Liverpool, after being roped in to help flog t-shirts & tote bags for an Irish language hip hop group called Kneecap. I got a few puzzled looks from punters. When you go to see a band whose most popular song is called “Get Your Brits Out”, you don’t expect a fella with an English accent to be selling their merch. Less still do you expect that English accent to attempt to converse with you in (semi-serviceable) Irish…

‘Like I said, how the hell have I ended up here, doing this? I’ll start by blaming my wife,’ Peppiat jokes. ‘When we first met she told me she was from West Belfast. It could be said the 10 years since has been an education in that cardinal direction. Because West Belfast is a place unto itself, engendering a fierce sense of prideful identity in its residents. It’s a place I’ve come to love. It’s the place Kneecap hail from. The Gaeltacht quarter, to be precise – an Irish language enclave amid the vivid murals of the Falls Road.

‘The best of films parachute you into a time and place uniquely their own,’ the director writes. ‘Mean Streets. Fargo. Trainspotting. West Belfast, 2019, was one of those places. Northern Ireland’s Government had collapsed over the refusal of Unionist politicians to give the Irish language equal status to English. And in a concert venue, drunk, shirtless and spitting whip-smart verses of that self-same language were an up-and-coming band called Kneecap. I was among the enraptured crowd. The filmmaker inside me knew there was a special meeting of time and place and people occurring. It was the moment that I began to comprehend the true importance of the Irish language struggle. Forget headlines and political wrangling, there was a story to be told that could resonate far beyond West Belfast, the city as a whole or indeed this island. And I knew I had to make that film.’

Where Was Kneecap Filmed?

Kneecap was filmed in Belfast in May 2023.