Kneecap Named Spirit of the Festival’ as the Celtic Media Festival Unveils Final Gala Award Winners
Date Posted: June 6, 2025
Tonight, the Celtic Media Festival concluded the 46th edition of the international celebration of sound and screen with its final Gala Awards Ceremony. The final Torc Awards were presented in Newquay, Cornwall, across a range of categories, including Single Documentary, Drama Series and Radio Station of the Year, as well as Spirit of the Festival, a signature accolade that recognises exceptional work in an indigenous language.
The night also saw the announcement of the winner of the Celtic Media Festival International Pitching Forum. Pushing Up Daisies took the £6,000 development prize.
Accepting the Spirit of the Festival Award, Máire Bhreathnach, Executive Producer, Kneecap, said: “It’s really special to get this award for this film. It’s been a mental year from when we bounced onto the screen at Sundance, the first Irish language film to get to Sundance. It’s a controversial film, it’s risky. But it’s also a very deep film, very much about indigenous language, and language rights. This is to the core of Kneecap as a band. Human rights are to the core of Kneecap as a band, speaking out for those who cannot speak out for themselves. We’ve won a lot of awards this past while, but the Celtic Media Festival is a special one to win.”
Single Documentary (Screen)
Patrick: A Young Traveller Lost
Alleycats / RTÉ One
Drama Series (Screen)
Lost Boys and Fairies
Duck Soup Films / BBC One Wales
Single Drama (Screen)
Justicia Artificial
Tornasol Media, Abano Production, Ukbar Filmes
Presenter of the Year (Sound)
Caoimhe Ní Chathail
BBC Radio Ulster / BBC Northern Ireland
Radio Station of the Year (Sound)
BBC Radio nan Gàidheal
BBC Radio nan Gàidheal / BBC Gàidhlig
Spirit of the Festival (Screen)
Kneecap
Fine Point Films / TG4
Festival Director Catriona Logan said: “This year’s festival has proved that Celtic media is evolving not only editorially, commercially and structurally, but creatively. Tonight’s Gala Awards winners tell us, beyond doubt, that the quality of documentary and drama output in the Celtic nations is world-class and genre-defining. Tonight’s Sound Awards demonstrate the enduring impact of indigenous-language radio broadcasting, while our Spirit of the Festival – Kneecap – proves just why the Celtic Media Festival is a truly international celebration of sound and screen. It’s not just because the content from our Celtic nations is of international quality, but also because of the scale of global impact that Irish creators are making on the world stage today.”
