RYAN KERNAGHAN + KNEECAP

Directed by Rich Peppiatt, Feature Kneecap follows “the birth of Kneecap, a hip and naughty Irish rap group”. 

Kneecap features cinematography by Ryan Kernaghan and received its World Premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. This breaks history as it is the first Irish language film to premiere at the Sundance film festival! Kneecap picked up the NEXT Audience Award (presented by Adobe) at the festival and has received some glowing reviews!

Variety Magazine: “there’s enough gutsy charm packed into the charged performances of the rappers turned convincing actors and Ryan Kernaghan’s vivaciously shapeshifting cinematography, even as the film ramps up to an expectedly uplifting finale, to earn it some slack.”

BFI: “Rich Peppiatt’s film sees the Belfast-based, Irish-language rapping threesome (stage names Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí) journey through an exhilarating, exaggerated tale of ketamine binges, PSNI run-ins and raucous sell-out gigs, deftly managing a tonal tightrope that keeps the story grounded in reality, despite its outlandish elements.”

Slant: “Indeed, most of Peppiatt’s film isn’t about respectability, but rather debasement, and sugar-coating Kneecap’s widespread antics isn’t on the menu. From their extensive drug use and run-ins with the peelers to their wild stage antics and various sexual escapades, Kneecap embodies the abrasive resilience commonly associated with Irish and Scottish people.”

The feature stars Michael Fassbender (Prometheus, Steve Jobs), Simone Kirby (Notes on Blindness, Peaky Blinders), Jessica Reynolds (Outlander, Derry Girls) and Emer Casey (The Tourist, Three Families). 

RYAN KERNAGHAN / CV / WEBSITE