| Rich Peppiatt | |
| Birth Place: | England |
| Years Active: | 2012–present |
Rich Peppiatt is an English writer and director.[1] [2] He is best known for films Kneecap and One Rogue Reporter.[3] [4]
After graduating from the University of Warwick, Peppiatt worked as a journalist across a number of national newspapers.[5] He first came to prominence in 2011 when his resignation letter to Daily Star proprietor Richard Desmond, accusing the paper of Islamophobia and unethical journalism, went viral when it was leaked to the Guardian newspaper.[6] [7] [8] He became a prominent critic of tabloid behaviour, giving evidence at the Leveson Inquiry into Press Ethics.[9] [10]
Peppiatt turned his experiences as a journalist and fallout from his resignation into a stand-up comedy show titled One Rogue Reporter which premiered at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, described as "hilariously turning the tables on the tabloid power players, testing the public’s right to know to its eye-opening extremity."[11] [12] After Edinburgh the show toured across the UK, finishing with a run at London’s Soho Theatre.[13] [14]
The stage show was transformed into a documentary One Rogue Reporter, starring the likes of Hugh Grant, Steve Coogan and John Bishop. It premiered at Sheffield DocFest in 2014 and was nominated for Best Independent Feature at the National Film Awards UK.[15]
In 2018 Peppiatt released two short films through his production company Naughty Step titled Backseat Driver and Grounded.[16] [17] Grounded was long-listed for the 2020 Academy Awards.[1]
Peppiatt was the writer and occasional director of five seasons Channel 4’s satirical consumer affairs show Supershoppers. He was writer of season five of Channel 4’s Tricks of the Restaurant Trade.[18]
In 2024 Peppiatt wrote and directed his first narrative feature film Kneecap, about the rise of the Belfast-based hip-hop group Kneecap.[19] The film stars the band members as themselves, as well as Michael Fassbender. The idea for a film was first conceived in 2019 when Peppiatt watched the group perform in Belfast.[20] He went on to shoot the music video for their track “Guilty Conscience”.[21] The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, winning the NEXT Audience Award.[22] It was released worldwide in August 2024 claiming the biggest Irish weekend opening ever for Irish language film.[23]
At the 2024 Galway Film Fleadh Kneecap won three main prizes: Best Irish Film, Best Irish Language Film and Audience Award. It is the first film in the 36-year history of the festival to do so.[24]
Kneecap has been selected as Ireland’s entry for the 2025 Academy Awards.[25]
Peppiatt lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland[26] and his wife is Irish.[27]
| Year | Title | Contribution | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | One Rogue Reporter | Director, writer and producer | Documentary | |
| 2017 | Hutching Up | Director, writer and producer | Short film | |
| 2018 | Grounded | Director, writer and producer | Short film | |
| 2018 | Backseat Driver | Director, co-writer and producer | Short film | |
| 2018 | Who Killed the KLF? | Executive producer | Documentary | |
| 2024 | Kneecap | Director and writer | Feature film |
| Year | Title | Contribution | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-2018 | Supershoppers | Director, writer and producer | TV Series |
| 2019 | Tricks of the Restaurant Trade | Writer | 5 episodes |
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Work | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Won | Galway Film Fleadh | Best Irish Film | Kneecap | |
| Won | Best Irish Language Film | ||||
| Won | Audience Award | ||||
| Won | Sundance Film Festival | NEXT Audience Award | |||
| Nominated | NEXT Innovator Award | ||||
| Nominated | SXSW | Audience Award | [28] | ||
| Nominated | Sydney Film Festival | Best Film | [29] | ||