British Independent Film Awards: ‘Kneecap’ wins seven awards

Posted On December 9, 2024December 9, 2024

The British Independent Film Awards 2024 ceremony is in the books, and there was one big winner on the night: Kneecap, the Irish comedy biopic of the real-life hip-hop trio.

Writer and director Rich Peppiatt’s debut feature film landed a whopping seven awards, including ‘Best British Independent Film’, ‘Best Debut Screenwriter’, and ‘Best Joint Performance’ for the three leads Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh (Mo Chara), Naoise Ó Cairealláin (Moglai Bap), and JJ Ó Dochartaigh (DJ Próvai).

In a red carpet interview with the BBC, Moglai Bap theorised about why the story of his band, who rap in the Irish language, has resonated with so many people. He said, “There’s a lot of people who suffered under imperialism and colonialism, and a lot of people see themselves in the story of it. Minority languages, minority cultures getting their shake at the stake.”

Bandmate Mo Chara agreed wholeheartedly, revealing, “We thought it was a film about the Irish language, but languages that have been oppressed is an international story and a lot of people related to it.”

Peppiatt admitted that when he first met the band, he doubted the movie’s potential to be a big hit. However, he couldn’t deny the charisma of the band, nor the importance of what they represent. He said, “They weren’t signed and rapping in a language not many people spoke. It didn’t really scream, you know, big movie potential, but there was something that just connected. Their approach to promoting indigenous language and culture was something that I just thought was a really important message.”

Elsewhere, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl was the next biggest winner with two trophies on the night. Director Rungano Nyoni won ‘Best Director’, beating out the likes of Peppiatt, Rose Glass for Love Lies Bleeding, and Andrea Arnold for Bird. Susan Chardy also landed the prestigious ‘Best Breakthrough Performance’ award.

Hindi language crime thriller Santosh – which was submitted by the UK for consideration in the Academy Awards’ international film category – landed a ‘Best Screenplay’ win for Sandhya Suri. Meanwhile, the BIFAs chose Sean Baker’s Anora as its own ‘Best International Film’, and the ‘Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director’ went to Bring Them Down’s Christopher Andrews.

The two top acting awards on the night went to Marianne Jean-Baptiste for her stunning lead performance in Hard Truths, and Franz Rogowski for his supporting turn in Bird.

In documentary terms, Grand Theft Hamlet won the ‘Raindance Maverick Award’, and its directors, Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane, won ‘Best Debut Director for a Feature Documentary’.

The complete BIFA winners list:

‘Best British Independent Film’

• Kneecap — WINNER
• Love Lies Bleeding
• On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
• The Outrun
• Santosh

‘Best International Independent Film’

• All We Imagine as Light
• Anora — WINNER
• La Chimera
• No Other Land
• The Seed of the Sacred Fig

‘Best Director’

• Andrea Arnold – Bird
• Nora Fingscheidt – The Outrun
• Rose Glass – Love Lies Bleeding
• Rungano Nyoni – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl — WINNER
• Rich Peppiatt – Kneecap

‘Best Screenplay’

• The Outrun – Nora Fingscheidt and Amy Liptrot
• Love Lies Bleeding – Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska
• On Becoming a Guinea Fowl – Rungano Nyoni
• Kneecap – Rich Peppiatt
• Santosh – Sandhya Suri — WINNER

‘Best Lead Performance’

• Radhika Apte – Sister Midnight
• Susan Chardy – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
• Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths — WINNER
• Elliot Page – Close to You
• Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun
• Alicia Vikander – The Assessment

‘Best Supporting Performance’

• Michele Austin – Hard Truths
• Elizabeth Chisela – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
• Barry Keoghan – Bird
• Jack O’Connell – Back to Black
• Franz Rogowski – Bird — WINNER
• Hayley Squires – Hoard

‘Best Joint Lead Performance’

• Joseph Quinn and Saura Lightfoot Leon – Hoard
• Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart – Love Lies Bleeding
• Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, and JJ Ó Dochartaigh – Kneecap — WINNER
• Jason Patel and Ben Hardy – Unicorns

‘The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)’

• Christopher Andrews – Bring Them Down — WINNER
• Luna Carmoon – Hoard
• James Krishna Floyd (also directed by Sally El Hosaini) – Unicorns
• Karan Kandhari – Sister Midnight
• Rich Peppiatt – Kneecap

‘Breakthrough Producer’

• Hollie Bryan and Lucy Meer – The Ceremony
• Balthazar de Ganay and James Bowsher (also produced by Mike Goodridge, Alan McAlex) – Santosh — WINNER
• Jacob Swan Hyam (also produced by Julianne Ford, Ivana MacKinnon, Jean-Yves Roubin, Ruth Treacey, Cassandre Warnauts) – Bring Them Down
• Ben Toye – Treading Water
• Rebecca Wolff (also produced by Julia Ton) – Grand Theft Hamlet

‘Breakthrough Performance’

• Nykiya Adams – Bird
• Susan Chardy – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl — WINNER
• Saura Lightfoot-Leon – Hoard
• Ruaridh Mollica – Sebastian
• Jason Patel – Unicorns

‘Best Debut Screenwriter’

• James Krishna Floyd – Unicorns
• Karan Kandhari – Sister Midnight
• Rich Peppiatt – Kneecap — WINNER
• Sandhya Suri – Santosh
• Mrs. & Mr. Thomas (also written by John Donnelly) – The Assessment

‘Best Debut Director’

• Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane – Grand Theft Hamlet — WINNER
• Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter – Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other
• Rachel Ramsay (also directed by James Erskine) – Copa 71
• Clair Titley – The Contestant

‘The Raindance Maverick Award’

• The Ceremony
• Grand Theft Hamlet — WINNER
• Restless
• Satu — The Year of the Rabbit
• Witches

‘Best Feature Documentary’

• The Contestant
• Grand Theft Hamlet
• Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
• Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other
• Witches — WINNER

‘Best British Short Film’

• Delivery
• Housewarming
• Meat Puppet
• A Move
• Wander to Wonder — WINNER

‘Best Casting’

• Heather Basten – Hoard
• Isabella Odoffin – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
• Lucy Pardee – Bird
• Carla Stronge – Kneecap — WINNER
• Mary Vernieu and Lindsay Graham Ahanonu – Love Lies Bleeding

‘Best Cinematography’

• Pawel Edelman- Lee
• Ben Fordesman – Love Lies Bleeding — WINNER
• Rob Hardy – Civil War
• Yunus Roy Imer – The Outrun
• Ryan Kernaghan – Kneecap

‘Best Costume Design’

• Zjena Glamocanin – Kneecap
• Meghan Kasperlik – Civil War
• Olga Mill – Love Lies Bleeding
• Nirage Mirage – Unicorns
• Michael O’Connor – Firebrand — WINNER

‘Best Editing’

• Stephen Bechinger – The Outrun
• Joe Bini – Bird
• Margarida Cartaxo and Stuart Davidson – Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger
• Jake Roberts – Civil War
• Julian Ulrichs and Chris Gill – Kneecap — WINNER

‘Best Effects’

• James Allen – Love Lies Bleeding
• Glen McGuigan and Ingo Putze – Lee
• David Simpson – Civil War — WINNER

‘Best Music Supervision’

• Iain Cooke and Giles Martin – Back to Black
• Kle Savidge – Sister Midnight
• Gary Welch and Jeanette Rehnstrom – Kneecap — WINNER

‘Best Make-Up & Hair Design’

• Megan Daum and Frieda Valenzuela – Love Lies Bleeding
• Peta Dunstall – Back to Black
• Kat Morgan – The Outrun
• Lisa Mustafa – Unicorns — WINNER
• Jenny Shircore – Firebrand

‘Best Original Music’

• Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante – Kneecap — WINNER
• Burial – Bird
• Stuart Earl – Unicorns
• John Gürtler and Jan Miserre – The Outrun
• Clint Mansell – Love Lies Bleeding

‘Best Production Design’

• Bobbie Cousins – Hoard
• Jan Houllevigue – The Assessment — WINNER
• Katie Hickman – Love Lies Bleeding
• Caty Maxey – Civil War
• Nicola Moroney – Kneecap

‘Best Sound’

• Louise Burton, Brendan Rehill, Aza Hand, and Simon Kerr – Kneecap
• Paul Davies, Andrew Stirk, Linda Forsén, Rose Bladh, and Tim Burns – Love Lies Bleeding
• Glen Freemantle – Civil War — WINNER
• Dominik Leube, Oscar Stiebitz, Jonathan Schorr, and Gregor Bonse – The Outrun
• Mike Prestwood Smith, Csaba Major, and Jimmy Boyle – Lee

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