Kneecap has taken home seven wins at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), including a joint lead accolade for its stars.
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