The vapors were brought by the hip-hop group Kneecap, who made a striking appearance at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City to announce the world premiere of their first movie, "Kneecap," directed by Rich Peppiatt. Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, and JJ Ó Dochartaigh arrived at the Egyptian Theatre in a Northern Irish PSNI Land Rover adorned with the band's name spray-painted on the side.
Same singers, same actors
The trio star as themselves in a captivating story about Kneecap's beginnings, with Michael Fassbender playing the role of the charismatic father who transforms into a political martyr. Mixing English and native Irish verses with fiery, politically charged rhymes, Kneecap's music leads us on an exhilarating journey to explore the essence of rebellion. Peppiatt's film is presented in the native Irish language and revolves around the "anarchic Belfast trio" who unexpectedly emerge as leaders of a civil rights movement to preserve their native language.
According to the festival, there are 80,000 Irish speakers in Ireland, with 6,000 in Northern Ireland. The movie Kneecap is the first Irish language film to be shown at Sundance.
"While preparing for Sundance, we were determined to showcase Kneecap's essence to the world. Our goal was to make a lasting impression, something that Sundance would remember," stated Daniel Lambert, Kneecap's manager. "To achieve this, we collaborated with the Tenth Man team to devise a strategy to take back the infamous Peeler Land Rover and make it our own."
Ken Robertson, CEO of Tenth Man, commented: "We have admired Kneecap for a long time, so when we learned that their new movie would be the first Irish language film to debut at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, we understood that this was a significant cultural moment that should be honored in the authentic Kneecap fashion."
