Three Northern Irish rappers are portraying themselves in the new musical drama Kneecap, which screened at Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca film festivals. The film features Naoise Ó Cairealláin, JJ Ó Dochartaigh, and Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh as a trio whose music and activism have become part of the fight to preserve the Irish language in Northern Ireland. Ahead of a release nationwide on August 2, Sony Classics have now released the first trailer.
Also starring Michael Fassbender, who was raised in Ireland, in a supporting role as the trio’s father, Jordan Raup called the film a “blast of infectious energy, utilizing the frenzied delivery of the group’s home-grown lyrics as an aesthetic template.”
Here’s the full synopsis: “When fate brings Belfast schoolteacher JJ into the orbit of self-confessed “low life scum” Naoise and Liam Og, the needle drops on a hip hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish language, KNEECAP fast become the unlikely figureheads of a Civil Rights movement to save their mother tongue. But the trio must first overcome police, paramilitaries, and politicians trying to silence their defiant sound—whilst their anarchic approach to life often makes them their own worst enemies. In this fiercely original sex, drugs, and hip-hop biopic, KNEECAP play themselves, laying down a global rallying cry for the defense of native cultures.”
Check out the trailer and poster below:
