Kneecap, a dramatised version of the sometimes already anarchic life of the west Belfast Irish language rap trio, will feature at the Cannes Film Festival.
The film, which wrapped last month, was selected as one eight features from the UK produced by either first or second-time filmmakers
They will be showcased before international buyers and festival programmers during one of the world's premier film festivals, which runs from Tuesday for nearly two weeks.
Kneecap, featuring Michael Fassbender, is inspired by the largely Irish language rap group and described as a "raucous anti-establishment comedy featuring the eponymous trio, who play heightened versions of their own lives against the backdrop of post-Troubles Belfast".
The synopsis reveals it is set in west Belfast, 2019, when "fate brings together disillusioned music teacher JJ with self-confessed ‘low life scum’ Naoise and Liam Og, changing the sound of Irish music forever".
"Under the name Kneecap, their band begins moulding the language to fit their tough, anarchic, hedonistic lives," it adds.
"But to get their voices heard the trio must overcome police, paramilitaries and politicians as the future of the Irish language erupts into the public arena – with them at the centre.
"Yet their worst enemies are often themselves, as family and relationship pressures threaten their dreams, and their illegal exploits draw condemnation from all sides."
Written and directed by Rich Peppiatt, Kneecap is produced by Jack Tarling at Mother Tongues Films and Trevor Birney of Fine Point Films, with Patrick O’Neill at Wildcard acting as co-Producer.
The UK-Ireland co-production is financed by BFI (awarding National Lottery funding), Screen Ireland, Coimisiún na Meán, TG4 and Northern Ireland Screen.
In a joint statement, Kneecap said: "We're buzzing to show people a side of Belfast that isn't about guns, bombs and death. To give an insight into the youth culture that has been born out of that madness - we all needed a break from it and there's revenge in our laughter.
"This is the North of Ireland and the importance of culture and community in the 21st century."
Writer/ director Rich Peppiatt added: "For those who already know Kneecap as musicians, I promise this will be a film true to their hedonistic and anarchic soul. And for those who haven’t yet heard of Kneecap, well, buckle up…”
Trevor Birney, of Finepoint Films, said he was "fascinated by Kneecap and the anarchic approach they take to life".
"The band may cause controversy but their antics belie an intelligence that is beyond their years and an amazing ability to lyrically convey what life is like for young people growing up in post-Troubles Belfast," said Mr Birney on producing his first dramatic feature.
Fassbender also features in a frontrunner for one of the prizes at the festival, a crime drama set in Spain starring the Kerry-raised actor along with Domhnall Gleeson and Ruth Negga.
Night Boat to Tangier. directed by documentary Oscar-winner James Marsh (Man on Wire) and based on the novel by Kevin Barry, the story follows Maurice (Fassbender) and Charlie (Gleeson), a pair of "fading" drug smuggling gangsters with a long history of violence and intertwined personal lives.
