The UK Premiere of Rich Peppiatt’s Irish-language film, Kneecap, which won the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award: NEXT in January in Utah, will open Sundance Film Festival: London 2024 on 6 June.
The festival will close on 9 June with the UK premiere of Dìdi (弟弟) written and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Sean Wang. Wang was recently Oscar-nominated for his documentary short Nai Nai & Wai Pó.
The 11th edition of Sundance Film Festival: London 2024 takes place from 6 to 9 June at Picturehouse Central.
Of the 80,000 native Irish speakers, 6,000 live in the North of Ireland and three of them became a rap group called Kneecap. This is the real-life story of how this anarchic Belfast trio became the unlikely figureheads of a civil rights movement to save and reinvigorate their mother tongue. Set in post-troubles Belfast, childhood best friends Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh and Naoise Ó Cairealláin live debaucherously, selling drugs and partying to pass the time, but when they inadvertently cross paths with high school teacher JJ Ó Dochartaigh, things begin down a path none of them saw coming. At the same time, a civil rights movement, led by JJ’s partner is fighting for the right to have the Irish language instated as an official language of Northern Ireland. With this political backdrop, JJ sees an opportunity to use music to further the cause. Following in the footsteps of Naoise’s father (played by Michael Fassbender), an IRA stalwart who instilled in them the power of language and culture, the three of them form Kneecap, a politically charged, anti-establishment rap trio who rap in Irish and embody the spirit of defiance. Kneecap was produced by Mother Tongues Films and Fine Point Films, in collaboration with Northern Ireland Screen, Screen Ireland and the BFI. The film was co-produced by Curzon and Wildcard and will be released in the UK and Eire in August 2024.
Set in 2008 in California’s Bay Area, Dìdi (弟弟) is a funny, irreverent, and affecting ode to first-generation teenagers navigating the joy and chaos of adolescence as seen through the lens of a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy, played by Izaac Wang (Good Boys, Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon). At its premiere in competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival it received critical and audience acclaim, winning both the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast.
Eugene Hernandez, Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming said: “Having Kneecap and Dìdi (弟弟) bookend the upcoming Sundance Film Festival: London 2024 sets the stage for a rousing edition celebrating new cinema. These two debut films, by breakthrough directors Rich Peppiatt and Sean Wang, offer irresistible storytelling and bold filmmaking that resonated deeply with our audiences at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It’s been an honour to welcome these filmmakers into the Sundance community. We look forward to bringing these exciting discoveries to London audiences and to sharing their energy and passion for independent cinema.”
Clare Binns, Managing Director, Picturehouse Cinemas added: “We’re thrilled to once again host the Sundance Film Festival: London at Picturehouse Central. This eleventh edition brings a selection of the finest independent films to the heart of London for their UK premieres, coming directly from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Audiences will be able to hear from the filmmakers, take part in Q&As, watch inspiring talks and enjoy the best new voices in filmmaking at the jewel in London’s cinema crown.”
The Festival will showcase a full programme of fiction and documentary features that premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January, specially curated for London by the Sundance Film Festival programming team in collaboration with Picturehouse. A special programme of UK shorts has also been assembled, as well as a strand of repertory titles to celebrate Sundance Film Festival’s 40th year of the U.S. edition, plus a series of public talks to bring big ideas to life.