Kneecap’s feature film has been rated among the contenders for the Oscar nomination shortlist by Variety magazine.
The highly rated US entertainment publication has placed the Irish language film, which stars the west Belfast rappers, as among the favourites to receive a nomination.
It comes just weeks after it was announced that Kneecap’s feature film is set to represent Ireland in the Oscars International Feature Film category.
The movie, which tells a fictionalised account of the story of the hip-hop trio, has already picked up awards at the Sundance Film Festival in the United States and the Galway Film Fleadh.
The group’s Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, and DJ Próvai co-wrote the film with director Rich Peppiatt. The cast also includes Michael Fassbender, Simone Kirby, Josie Walker, Fionnuala Flaherty, Jessica Reynolds, and Adam Best.
The film opened in cinemas in August and had the biggest weekend opening for any homegrown film at the Irish box office since 2022′s Oscar-nominated The Banshees of Inisherin.
In its weekly roundup from film festivals around the world, Variety has offered its “early indicators of which films may dominate the race” for an Academy Award nomination.
In its ‘predicted nominees’ section, it has suggested that Kneecap is ranked fifth in the ‘best international feature’ category behind Emilia Perez, I’m Still Here, The Seed of the Sacred Fig and The Girl with the Needle.
Variety placing Kneecap firmly in the Oscar race!! pic.twitter.com/NiNMvxLZ4Z
— Patrick O'Neill (@patrickon) October 12, 2024
Following the announcement by the Irish Film and Television Academy that Kneecap had been chosen as the Irish entry at next year’s Academy Awards, writer-director Peppiatt said: “To get the opportunity to represent our nation on the biggest film stage of them all is an absolute privilege”.
The shortlist for the International Feature Film Oscar will be announced on December 17 and the final five nominees will be announced on January 17 2025.
The Oscars take place in Los Angeles on March 2 2025.
