“Kneecap”, biography of an Irish rap group, receives the Crystal Arrow

On December 20, the Savoyard festival dedicated to European films crowned the musical biography of a committed Irish trio. Discover the rest of the winners of this 16th edition.

Lhe sixteenth edition of the Les Arcs film festival, dedicated to European films, crowned this Friday, December 20 Kneecap, by British Rich Peppiatt. Winner of the Audience Award at the Sundance Festival, and chosen to represent Ireland at the Oscars, this musical feature film tells the story of the emergence of the committed rap trio that gives it its name.

Made up of young people who grew up in post-Northern Irish conflict Belfast, Kneecap sings in Irish Gaelic and English. The film, in which the three rappers play themselves alongside Michael Fassbender, tells how the group became the symbol of rebellious Irish youth. He also received the prize for best original Music, that of the Cinglés du cinéma and the young jury; it will be released in France on June 18, 2025.

The feature film jury at the Les Arcs festival was made up of actors Pio Marmaï, Céline Sallette and Sofiane Zermani, writer Delphine de Vigan, composer Herdís Stafánsdóttir and director Peter Kerekes. They awarded their Grand Prize to the Norwegian Loveableby Lilja Inglofsdottir, portrait of a woman in the middle of a divorce. Austrian Peacock, by Bernhard Wenger, which is about a professional chameleon's quest for identity, received the audience prize.

The palmarès

Crystal Arrow Kneecap Rich Peppiatt
Grand jury prize Loveable by Lilja Inglofsdottir
Audience Award Peacock Austria's Bernhard Wenger
Interpretation Award Helga Guren dance Loveable
Interpretation Award Marilena Amato dans Vittoria by Alessandro Cassigoli and Casey Kauffman
Best Original Music Michael Asante for Kneecap
Best Photography Award Vytautas Katkus pour Toxic de Saulė Bliuvaitė
UniversCiné Prize in the Height section September & July d’Ariane Labed
Cineuropa Prix Toxic de Saulė Bluvaitė
Cinema Crazy Awards Kneecap, special mention to Toxic.
Young Jury Prize Kneecapspecial mention to Peacock.
Best Short Film Award Dancing in the Corner by Jan Bujnowski, special mention to Death of a Hero de Karin Franz Körlof.