Excitement gave way to groans of disappointment in a Belfast bar as fans realised the Irish language rap trio Kneecap would not be gracing the red carpet at this year’s Oscars ceremony.
Dozens had crammed into the tiny room upstairs in Madden’s Bar to watch the the nominations being revealed, with hopes high that the movie Kneecap would be given the opportunity to go for Oscar glory.
Cast and crew of the film gathered, including writer-director Rich Peppiatt and producer Trevor Birney, while the members of the group watching on a remote link from London, where they are recording.
The film has been a success during the awards season with 17 nods in categories at the Irish Film and Television Academy (Ifta) awards and six Bafta nominations.
It was also shortlisted for Best International Feature and Best Original Song for Sick In The Head at the Academy Awards, but failed to make the final five in either category when the nominations were revealed in Los Angeles shortly after lunchtime on Thursday.
Mr Peppiatt said there was a mixture of disappointment and pride.
He said: “Clearly we would have liked to have gone that extra step, but the film owes us nothing. We have had a fantastic year.
“To even get close to the Oscars conversation is fantastic. We will have a few drinks today, we will dust ourselves down.”
It really is a celebration of an indigenous film, a celebration of our language, a celebration of our culture
Producer Mr Birney said: “We are very proud, this is an incredible day.
“We are all gathered here today to celebrate an Irish language film.
“We didn’t get into the final five but we pushed it very hard.
“It really is a celebration of an indigenous film, a celebration of our language, a celebration of our culture.
“What can we do now to build on that? What can we do to celebrate our city and its stories?
“It is a wonderful platform that Rich Peppiatt has given us in order to build on.”
He added: “We are up for Baftas and Iftas, we’ve got the Critics Choice Award, we’ve picked up awards all through Europe.
“When I was on set two years ago you knew there was something happening, you knew there was something hugely creative going on.
“We never knew how it was going to develop.
“A year ago we were at Sundance and we thought that was the high point.
“Here we are a year later still talking about Kneecap.”
While Kneecap may have missed out on Oscars glory, fans in the were able to drown their sorrows with pints of Guinness.
