Berlin Premiere: Kneecap [OmeU, English & Irish with Engl. Subt.]

UK, IE, 2024, R: Rich Peppiatt mit Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, JJ Ó Dochartaigh, 105 Min

When Liam Óg's party night ends in a police interrogation room, Irish teacher JJ, who is supposed to interpret for the English-speaking policewoman, not only helps him hide the LSD from his notebook. The lyrics in it by Liam Óg and his mate Naoise about drugs, sex and resistance to the British establishment, with a few beats from JJ's garage, become an unplanned wave that sweeps across Belfast.

But the police, politicians and paramilitaries all have their own reasons for wanting to nip the band's success in the bud.

Between radio boycotts and arson attacks, the three chaotic lads get caught in the crossfire and unexpectedly become the political and rebellious symbol of an entire generation.

KNEECAP takes the audience on a crazy, high-energy sex, drugs and hip-hop trip through Belfast and tells the partly fictionalised story of the origins of the Irish hip-hop trio of the same name. The three members of the band play themselves, with two-time Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender (‘The Killer’) playing a supporting role. Carried by pulsating hip-hop beats, director Rich Peppiatt has succeeded in creating an exceptionally authentic film that captures the energy of a youth movement that is driven by a universal political motivation in addition to having fun: rebellion against the status quo.

KNEECAP celebrated its world premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award. The film was submitted by Ireland as an entry for the 2025 Academy Awards for Best International Film.

Trailer: