Sundance Film Festival will premiere an array of Irish talent at next month's showcase, including award-winning Saoirse Ronan's latest film and Belfast band KNEECAP's upcoming feature film.

One of the most respected and celebrated film festivals in the world, Sundance 2024 is set to run from January 18-28 in Utah. Previous Irish films selected to premiere at the festival include Yorgos Lanthimos's The Lobster, John Carney's Sing Street and Lee Cronin’s The Hole in the Ground.

Ireland-born Ronan first attended Sundance alongside the premiere of Brooklyn in 2015, an award-winning film about an Irish woman travelling to America in the 1950s to begin a new life. She now stars in The Outrun, in which she plays a woman returning home to Scotland's Orkney Islands to confront her troubled past.

We’re thrilled KNEECAP will have its world premiere at #Sundance 2024 & will screen on the opening night 18th Jan!

✨1st non-US film to ever be selected for the NEXT section
✨1st Irish language film to be selected for the festival

🎬Written & directed by @richpeppiatt &… pic.twitter.com/B8UgUQwTMM

— Wildcard Distribution (@WildCardDistrib) December 6, 2023

Set to screen on the opening night of the festival, KNEECAP is reportedly the first-ever Irish language film to have been selected by Sundance. The film stars the former Hot Press cover stars alongside Michael Fassbender, Simone Kirby and Josie Walker as it gives a somewhat fictionalised account of the origins and rise of the Northern Irish rap group.

KNEECAP is also the first non-US film to ever be selected for the NEXT section of the festival. The festival describes selections for this section as “pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to story-telling."

KNEECAP have said that they're "buzzing" about the premiere.

"Wherever we go we aim to smash preconceptions about cultural identity, language and highlight the role of the working classes to overthrow oppressive power," the group stated. "To now bring this message from the streets of West Belfast to the big screen is fucking excellent. We're immensely proud of the film and can't wait to get it to cinemas around the world.”

KNEECAP will be released in Irish cinemas by Wildcard and Curzon in 2024. The film's trailer is yet to be released, but in celebration of the news, KNEECAP posted a snippet of the film on their social media.

👀A wee sneak peek of Kneecap the movie. 👇

🎥 The first ever Irish language movie at @sundanceorg - this snippet in the language of the oppressor.

"The Troubles?!" 💥 pic.twitter.com/QoGdFdMqC9

— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) December 6, 2023

Revisit KNEECAP's Hot Press Cover Story Interview here.