Kneecap has taken home seven wins at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), including a joint lead accolade for its stars.
READ MORE: ‘Kneecap’ review: ballsy, brave and one of the best music biopics ever made
The comedy biopic, which focuses on the rise of the Belfast hip-hop group, also won major awards including Best British Independent Film and Best Debut Screenwriter for Rich Peppiatt.
Band members Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh won Best Joint Lead Performance at last night’s (December 8) ceremony at London’s Roundhouse, while the film also won four craft awards ahead of the ceremony.
It was also a good night for Rungano Nyoni’s On Becoming A Guinea Fowl, Sandhya Suri’s Santosh and Pinny Gryllsa and Sam Crane’s Grand Theft Hamlet, which each won two awards, while Anora took home Best International Independent Film.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste won Best Lead Performance for her turn in Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, while Franz Rogowski won Best Supporting Performance for Andrea Arnold’s Bird.
NME described Kneecap as “arguably one of the best music biopics of all time” in our five-star review, naming it as our best film of 2024.
The full list of BIFA winners are below:
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 Joint Lead Performance
Joseph Quinn, Saura Lightfoot Leon – Hoard
Katy O’Brian, Kristen Stewart – Love Lies Bleeding
Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, JJ Ó Dochartaigh – Kneecap – WINNER
Jason Patel, Ben Hardy – Unicorns
Best Screenplay
Nora Fingscheidt, Amy Liptrot – The Outrun
Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska – Love Lies Bleeding
Rungano Nyoni – On Becoming A Guinea Fowl
Rich Peppiatt – Kneecap
Sandhya Suri – Santosh – 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 Debut Director
Christopher Andrews – Bring Them Down – WINNER
Luna Carmoon – Hoard
James Krishna Floyd – Unicorns [Also directed by Sally El Hosaini]
Karan Kandhari – Sister Midnight
Rich Peppiatt – Kneecap
Best Debut Screenwriter
James Krishna Floyd – Unicorns
Karan Kandhari – Sister Midnight
Rich Peppiatt – Kneecap – WINNER
Sandhya Suri – Santosh
Mrs & Mr Thomas – The Assessment [also written by John Donnelly]
Breakthrough Producer
Hollie Bryan, Lucy Meer – The Ceremony
Balthazar De Ganay, James Bowsher – Santosh [also produced by Mike Goodridge, Alan McAlex] – WINNER
Jacob Swan Hyam – Bring Them Down [also produced by also produced by Julianne Ford, Ivana MacKinnon, Jean-Yves Roubin, Ruth Treacey, Cassandre Warnauts]
Ben Toye – Treading Water
Rebecca Wolff – Grand Theft Hamlet [also produced by Julia Ton]
Raindance Maverick Award
The Ceremony – Jack King, Hollie Bryan, Lucy Meer
Grand Theft Hamlet – Pinny Grylls, Sam Crane, Julia Ton, Rebecca Wolff – WINNER
Restless – Jed Hart, Benedict Turnbull
Satu – The Year Of The Rabbit – Joshua Trigg
Witches – Elizabeth Sankey, Jeremy Warmsley, Chiara Ventura, Manon Ardisson
Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary
Pinny Grylls, Sam Crane – Grand Theft Hamlet – WINNER
Manon Ouimet, Jacob Perlmutter – Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other
Rachel Ramsay – Copa 71 [also directed by James Erskine]
Clair Titley – The Contestant
Breakthrough Performance
Nykiya Adams – Bird
Susan Chardy – On Becoming A Guinea Fowl – WINNER
Saura Lightfoot-Leon – Hoard
Ruaridh Mollica – Sebastian
Jason Patel – Unicorns
Best Feature Documentary
The Contestant – Clair Titley, Megumi Inman, Andee Ryder, Amit Dey, Ian Bonhôte
Grand Theft Hamlet – Pinny Grylls, Sam Crane, Julia Ton, Rebecca Wolff
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui, Lizzie Gillett, Robert Ford
Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other – Jacob Perlmutter, Manon Ouimet, Signe Byrge Sorensen
Witches – Elizabeth Sankey, Jeremy Warmsley, Chiara Ventura, Manon Ardisson – WINNER
Best British Short Film
Delivery – Ben Lankester, Bophanie Lun, Joe Binks
Housewarming – Liam White, Guy Lindley
Meat Puppet – Eros V, Masha Thorpe, Leah Draws
A Move – Elahe Esmaili, Hossein Behboudi Rad
Wander To Wonder – Nina Gantz, Stienette Bosklopper, Simon Cartwright, Daan Bakker, Maarten Swart – WINNER
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