Kneecap is a riotous and rebellious Irish-language comedy-drama that tells the story of how three friends from West Belfast formed a hip-hop band that performs in Irish. The film stars real-life band members Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí alongside Michael Fassbender and Simone Kirby. Kneecap has already won awards at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival and our own Galway Film Fleadh and is set to take audiences by storm when it opens on August 8th. The film is written and directed by former reporter Rich Peppiatt. We spoke with him to learn more about the film and how an English filmmaker has become a champion of the Irish language.

 

How does an English filmmaker decide to make a uniquely Irish film?   

I hadn’t set foot on the island of Ireland until I met my now wife 13 or 14 years ago. It was the beginning of me understanding Britain’s colonial power in the North and the history that comes with it. My wife comes from a very West Belfast family. To be welcomed as I was into that family was an amazing thing. Some terrible things have happened to them and people they know. I don’t know if I would be big enough to welcome an Englishman into the family. I was very touched that they did. One of the things I’m proud of about the film is that I’ve created something that’s giving something back. I feel like it’s a perfect depiction of what Belfast is, its humour, and its people. Some people will focus on the raunchiest bits of it, but for me, it is a celebration of Belfast and its people.

We moved to Belfast about six years ago. We lived in London before that together. When we had our second child, I needed the night off from the crying and went out for a pint. A sign said that a local hip-hop band, Kneecap, was playing. I’m a big hip-hop fan, so I was drawn to listen to them, and I was blown away. I couldn’t understand a word they were saying, but I could see that everyone else in the crowd could. As much as I thought they were very talented and charismatic, I was really interested in the fact that there were so many young people in the crowd who were speaking Irish. I thought the Irish language in the North was only used by old farmers drinking Guinness rather than it being something that was young and cool. I thought, hang on, I’ve got a pretty good grip on this city, and I didn’t know that the Irish language was popular. There must be millions of people around the world who have no idea that this language is flourishing underground. As a filmmaker, you have the basis of a story when you find something that feels unexplored.

How did you approach the band, and was it a hard sell?  

I messaged them for a few months and got no response. I eventually bumped into someone who used to go out with one of them, and they gave me their phone number. I called them up, and that evening, we went out for some pints, and those pints led to a scene which I can only describe as more chaotic than the scene in the film where the band first go for drinks. That scene is pretty much based on what happened that night. I think it was partly a test to prove. I think they thought we’ll be working with this guy for years to come, so we had better make sure he could handle himself. I came rolling in at about seven or eight the next morning, and my wife was not too happy when I explained that the pints were for work.

You know Belfast and its history, but you need to have an even deeper understanding to make something like this. Did the reporter side of you deep dive into research, or did the boys lead you?   

It was a bit of both. The first thing I did was I signed up for Irish language classes. From the get-go, we knew we wanted to do most of the film in Irish.  The Irish language is not a fun little hobby; it’s how they live their life, right? They live their lives through that language. Making a film and making them speak English wouldn’t be a truly authentic representation.  I don’t think you can understand why it connects to them and why it’s so important to them unless you speak the language so learning it was a must. In terms of the script, they’re storytellers. The Irish language is an oral language. It’s not a written language like English is. It’s passed down through poetry, songs, and stories.

I realised very early on that Kneecap is the latest iteration of that storytelling culture. Their story is in their songs. The starting point was to listen to their music, hearing the stories in there, and deciding which stories to start pulling out to form a narrative. We sat down and interviewed them, but it was more like sitting with mates in a pub. If you spend three months drinking with people, you get to know people very well.

Once you’re a journalist, you’re always a journalist. It never leaves you. Journalism is storytelling the same way filmmaking is; it’s just a different form. Being a reporter comes in useful. I’m very attracted to stories that have a basis in real life. Most of the films I’ve ever done have some real-life element. I’m not very good at staring at a blank page. It’s not something that comes naturally to me. I have to have a jumping-off point.

This is not a straight biopic. You have created a mythology for Kneecap where we don’t always know which part of the story is fact or fiction. Why did you choose this way to tell their story?  

On paper, Kneecap is a film that does not have the right to exist. It is about a band that few people have heard of rapping in a language only a few speak. Why are you going to make a film about that? Doing a documentary would have been the obvious route, but I wanted to do something other than a documentary. Our approach was if there are bits we want to amp up or invent, then let’s do that because we want to make as good of a film as possible. All that said, 70% of the film is real. Some of the maddest shit in this film is the true stuff.

Michael Fassbender is a great actor, speaks Irish, and is connected to Belfast from his performance as Bobby Sands, making him perfect for this film. Did having a big name attached to an indie project also help?  

The film was fully funded when he came on board, so it wasn’t a budget thing. This wasn’t a film that would ever hang off the back of a big star or need a big star, but we sat down with the band and the producer Trevor and decided to shoot for the stars. Michael Fassbender speaks Irish and is worshipped in the North for how he portrayed Bobby Sands in Hunger. The boys and I are big fans, so we thought f**k it, we’d ask him. We knew it was a long shot. Within a week, I got a text message from Michael. Ten minutes later, I was on a video call with him. Fifteen minutes later, he said he loved the script and wanted to do it. It shows that anything is possible if you have good material. Having him on board was massive, but he was conscious about not wanting it to become a Michael Fassbender film. He thought it would be unfair if this became Michael Fassbender and Kneecap rather than Kneecap and Michael Fassbender. It has to be the boy’s film; fortunately, we found that balance.

For some people, it will be a battle cry for culture and nationalism, but for others, it will be incendiary. Are you prepared for backlash because, inevitably, there will be a community that is not too happy about Kneecap?  

I’ll be upset if there’s no backlash. I’m drawn to controversy, and it’s something that I’ve never shied away from. Controversy is not always bad. This film does say things that never dared to be said before, but that’s important. I don’t think anything in the film is an offence for offence’s sake. We are consciously pushing the boundaries, which will upset some people, but if no one’s ever prepared to go there, you never progress. One big thing about the people of Belfast is that even with all the horrible things that have occurred on both sides of the community, one thing that has always gotten through is this dark sense of humour. To make a film that uses humour to push the boundaries is absolutely in keeping with what I think a film like this should be. I’m happy to defend everything in there, but I had to fight hard for certain things in that film. Certain people will say it’s anti-British, for example, but they’re going to have a really hard time standing over that when it was written and directed by a Brit. You can’t start calling things anti-British just because their concept of what Britishness is isn’t necessarily mine. I’ve got every right to look at the country I was born in from a certain perspective. The idea of patriotism and things like that as having to be one certain thing is b****cks. If anyone tries swinging that particular bat, I look forward to swinging it right back again.

You have just set up a production company, Coup D’Etat Films, with your Kneecap producer, Trevor Birney. I know it is early days, but can you tell us anything about it?

Trevor and I have worked together on the Kneecap for six years now. We have very similar tastes. The last six months have been interesting. I’ve been out to LA a lot doing the Hollywood rounds, which has been an amazing experience. It made me realise that Ireland’s home and we have a fantastic film community and locations. I want to tell Irish stories, particularly in the North. We have an opportunity for a company that can attract productions. Belfast has given me a huge amount, and I’d love to create a company that can give back, become a part of that film community, and make great films. When you look at some great companies in Ireland, like Element Pictures, who use Oscars for doorstops, why can’t we do that in the north?

What would you like audiences to take away from the film?  

Beyond all the sex, drugs, and hip-hop, Kneecap is a film that is about identity. It’s about the Irish language and language in general. English has become so hegemonic. There are languages and cultures all around the world that are fading out of existence because young people are not engaging; they’re more interested in the English language than looking back at their grandparents and their heritage. I would like audiences to look into their families and decide I am going to learn my mother’s native tongue whatever that might be. I hope it makes people think about their own culture and how they engage with it.

KNEECAP is at Irish cinemas from August 8th 

Words – Cara O’Doherty