Widely acclaimed film Kneecap about a Belfast rap trio is set to be released to a worldwide audience today and Dundalk viewers will notice some very familiar places when watching the Irish language film.
The film which stars Michael Fassbender as well as Kneecap members Moglai Bap, Mo Chara and DJ Provai was shot in Belfast and Dundalk last year with scenes from the film shot in local locations such as The Spirit Store on George’s Quay, New Street in Dundalk, Greenore as well as Seapoint beach.
The film is written and directed by Rich Peppiatt (One Rogue Reporter), one of the recipients of the 2021 Mother Tongues Awards, a development initiative for projects at treatment or script stage, in which the story dialogue is in a language other than English.
The Irish language film is a semi-fictionalised account of how the west Belfast rap trio was formed and has received rave reviews since being released during the awards circuit. It is the first Irish language film to win the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and currently has a rating of 96% on popular movie rating site Rotten Tomatoes.
Kneecap formed in west Belfast in 2017 with the popular trio making their name for rapping in a mixture of English and Irish with their lyrics often containing Republican themes.
Kneecap was released by Sony Pictures Classics in the US on August 2nd and had its Irish Premier last night in Dublin. It will be released generally today in Irish cinemas.