Skintown, a film adaptation of actor and author Ciarán McMenamin's 2017 debut novel, is set to premiere this weekend at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. The story follows a group of friends in a small Northern Irish town who come of age against the backdrop of a ceasefire and the rise of 1990s rave culture, and McMenamin says the screening will mark his first chance to watch the finished film from beginning to end.
"To get to this stage is a joy really, and the Edinburgh Festival - you couldn't get a better festival for this film," said McMenamin.
"It's the best film for that market and it's the coolest festival so we're very excited about it."
McMenamin, who was born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, took the novel's title - and the film's - from a nickname long attached to his hometown. The adaptation is directed by Kieron Walsh and stars Jack Rowan, Chris Walley, Hope Ikpoku Jnr and Derry Girls actress Jamie-Lee O'Donnell.
Although the plot is fictional, McMenamin has been clear that the world of Skintown draws heavily on his own adolescence growing up during the Troubles in Northern Ireland and his desire to escape it.
"The world is mine, and that of my friends we grew up in," he explained.
"The escapism of the rave, and the communities, the kids coming together and realising that they have more in common than they thought. It is a work of fiction but there is a lot of me in it."
He said he intends to bring his sisters to the premiere, treating it as a homecoming of sorts for his family and his native county.
"I am bringing my sisters [to the premiere] as it is obviously a Fermanagh occasion. We are putting Enniskillen on the celluloid map," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.
McMenamin described the film's themes as centred on "resilience and hope", and praised its soundtrack - featuring the Prodigy, Elastica, Happy Mondays and Carl Cox - as "a real banger" that will help transport audiences back to the era.
How did the rave scene shape the story?
McMenamin says the rave culture depicted in the film reflected a genuine social shift at the time, drawing young people from opposing communities together in a way that was unusual for the period.
"We all started hanging out with kids from the other side of the fence that we didn't really know before," he said.
"Essentially it is my love letter to where I am from. There is a lot of my youth in it."
How does it compare with Derry Girls?
Despite sharing two cast members with Derry Girls - O'Donnell and Tara Lynne O'Neill - and being set in the same era of Northern Irish history, McMenamin said the resemblance to Lisa McGee's acclaimed comedy largely ends with tone and humour.
"The humour is the same," he said. "If we've landed anything half as well as Lisa McGee, we will be over the moon."
"It's the same era and some of the humour will definitely be the same tone – as that's our sense of humour."
"That's the thing about the film I'm proudest about - the humour."
"There's a lot of the film which is very serious, it has a very serious message and it's quite a heavy drama at times but it's also a good night out and the boys in it are brilliant. It's good fun."
McMenamin said he never anticipated that Skintown would make the leap from page to screen, and takes pride in placing Fermanagh - a county he says has rarely featured on film - in front of audiences.
"Fermanagh isn't a part of the world that has been on screen a lot," he said.
"So, if I can be the guy that brought Fermanagh to the screen, I'll die happy. I do like writing about home because I miss it and it's in my soul. I live in England, which is great, but I think looking back at where you are from, when you are not there, can give you quite an interesting perspective in terms of storytelling."
What is the history behind the adaptation?
McMenamin's novel was originally published in 2017 and was later reissued by Vintage in 2021, when it was longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize, according to his literary agency's biography. The same source notes that McMenamin adapted both of his novels for the screen himself, with Skintown moving into production in 2025.
Industry reporting had earlier identified the film's lead characters as Vinny and Jonty, with the story set during the 1994 IRA ceasefire, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter. The project was being set up by Keeper Pictures and Cyprus Avenue Films, with early backing from Pretty____Ideas, according to a Deadline report, which also noted that the film received support from Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen and was expected to begin shooting in mid-2025.
Skintown's screen adaptation follows a wider pattern of Troubles-era and post-industrial coming-of-age stories reaching new audiences; Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting, another novel steeped in youth subculture, is similarly being turned into a stage musical opening in London this July.
What happens next?
Skintown remained part of Screen Ireland's active production slate as of early 2026, according to Script magazine's coverage of the agency's 2026 slate. A January 2026 interview reported that the film would be released later that year, according to extra.ie, while separate reporting had earlier pointed to a 2026 release window following the mid-2025 shoot, according to the Antrim .
Key Facts
- Skintown is adapted from Ciarán McMenamin's 2017 debut novel of the same name, reissued by Vintage in 2021 and longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize.
- The film is directed by Kieron Walsh and stars Jack Rowan, Chris Walley, Hope Ikpoku Jnr and Jamie-Lee O'Donnell.
- It premieres at the Edinburgh International Film Festival this weekend.
- Production was backed by Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen, with Keeper Pictures and Cyprus Avenue Films setting up the project.
- Reports indicate a 2026 release, following a shoot that began in mid-2025.
