He went on to win the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.[10] He was also awarded Best Director at the 2025 Irish Film and Television Awards,[11] Best Debut Screenwriter at the British Independent Film Awards,[12] and Breakthrough British/Irish filmmaker at the London Film Critics ‘ Circle Awards.[13]
Career
After graduating from the University of Warwick, Peppiatt worked as a journalist across a number of national newspapers.[14] 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.[15][16][17] He became a prominent critic of tabloid behaviour, giving evidence at the Leveson Inquiry into Press Ethics.[18][19]
One Rogue Reporter
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."[20][21] After Edinburgh the show toured across the UK, finishing with a run at London’s Soho Theatre.[22][23]
In 2018 Peppiatt released two short films titled Backseat Driver and Grounded.[25][26]Grounded was long-listed for the 2020 Academy Awards.[4]
Television
Peppiatt was the writer and occasional director of five seasons Channel 4’s satirical consumer affairs show Supershoppers.[citation needed] He was writer of season five of Channel 4’s Tricks of the Restaurant Trade.[27]
Kneecap
In 2024 Peppiatt wrote and directed his first narrative feature film Kneecap, about the rise of the Belfast-based hip-hop group Kneecap.[28] 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.[29] He went on to shoot the music video for their track “Guilty Conscience”.[30] The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, winning the NEXT Audience Award.[31] It was released worldwide in August 2024 claiming the biggest Irish weekend opening ever for Irish language film.[32]
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.[33]
The film won seven awards at the 2024 British Independent Film Awards, including Best British Independent Film,[34] four awards at the Irish Film and Television Awards,[35] and a BAFTA.
Kneecap was shortlisted as Ireland’s entry for the 2025 Academy Awards,[36] but missed out on a nomination.
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