Kneecap, directed by Rich Peppiatt, and Ghost Trail (Les Fantômes), by Jonathan Millet, were the winners of the Discoveries section.
After creating a music video for the Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap, Peppiatt decided to centre his debut feature film on the group's artists. The result is a comedy that satirises the biopic genre, delivering guaranteed laughs while carrying a message of defiance. The film tells the story of a trio committed to keeping Irish identity alive through music, predominantly sung in Irish, that challenges authority and evokes an anti-British imperialist sentiment. Combining humour and protest, the film stands out as an irreverent celebration of Irish culture and resilience. Les Fantômes tells the story of Hamid, a Syrian exile who belongs to a group focused on tracking down former criminals from the Syrian war. Although the film doesn't explicitly show us the conditions Hamid was subjected to in the past, the terror and the marks they left on the protagonist's life are constantly visible, if only through his unwavering determination to confront his former prison torturer. Jonathan Millet's first attempt at fiction is a suspenseful film that evokes classic espionage thrillers.