THE KNEECAP MOVIE is to be Ireland’s entry for Best International Feature at next year’s Academy Awards, the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) have announced.

Set in West Belfast in 2019, the film stars the rap trio that has risen to international acclaim in recent years for their blend of Irish and English rap about the realities of growing up in post-Troubles Belfast. The trio have recently played at Glastonbury and have appeared on American late-night talk shows.

The three band members, Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, and DJ Próvai co-wrote the film with director Rich Peppiatt and features an ensemble cast inducing Michael Fassbender, Simone Kirby, Josie Walker, Fionnuala Flaherty, Jessica Reynolds and Adam Best.

The movie will be released in Irish cinemas next week on Thursday, 8 August.

It has already received a strong critical reception, taking the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year  

The Irish language movie will hope to follow in the footsteps of An Cailín Ciúin/The Quiet Girl, which became the first ever Irish language film to be nominated for an Oscar in 2023.

In 2016, the Spanish language film Viva was also shortlisted for an Oscar, having been nominated by the IFTA after it was made in Ireland.

Responding to the announcement, the three Kneecap band members thanked the IFTA for selecting the film for the Oscars, with Móglaí Bap adding “one thing we’ve noticed in America is it resonates internationally. It’s an international story and makes people reflect on their own culture and language, and to consider the relationship they have with their indigenous or native language”.

Fellow band member Mo Chara also said it was a “privilege” to see the Irish language on the biggest stage in the world.

The film was produced by Jack Tarling and Trevor Birney for Fine Point Films and Mother Tongues Films, with Patrick O’Neill at Wildcard acting as Co-Producer.

Funding was provided by Northern Ireland Screen, the Irish Language Broadcast Fund, Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, the BFI (awarding National Lottery funding), Coimisiún na Meán and TG4, with backing also from Great Point Media.

The Oscar International Feature shortlist will be announced in December, with the final five Nominees announced a month later in January.

The 97th Academy Awards ceremony takes place in Los Angeles on Sunday, 3 March 2025.