‘Skintown:’ Ciaran McMenamin Big Screen Adaptation Set

Anthony Boyle & Josh Finan Monica Schipper/Getty Images.

EXCLUSIVE: Northern Irish actor and author Ciaran McMenamin’s 2018 novel Skintown has been set for a big screen adaptation from Keeper Pictures and recent IFTA award winners Cyprus Avenue Films with Anthony Boyle (Masters of The Air) and Josh Finan (Say Nothing) signed on to star.

The pic will be directed by Kieron J. Walsh (When Brendan Met Trudy, JUMP!, The Racer). Set in the mid-’90s during the IRA ceasefire, the film follows the roller coaster journey of two best friends trying to escape their life in a small Irish town. Immersing themselves in the world of raves, drugs and gangs the boys dream big but are thwarted by the realities of the world around them. Described by producers as “a buddy movie combining the anarchy of Kneecap with the humor of Derry Girls,” the film is said to be influenced by titles like Trainspotting and Twin Town.

Skintown is set to shoot in mid-2025 with backing from Screen Ireland and has been supported in development by Northern Ireland Screen. The project has also been backed from an early stage by Visit Film’s founder Ryan Kampe’s film incubator Pretty____Ideas.

The film is produced by Yvonne Donohoe (Keeper Pictures) and Brendan J. Byrne (Cyprus Avenue Films), and is executive produced by Katie Holly of Keeper Pictures (Love and Friendship, Mr Malcom’s List and ExtraOrdinary). The producers will be in Cannes to present the project to select partners.

“Skintown is a remarkable script, encapsulating as it does a pivotal time in our recent history, as seen through the lens of two best friends who are desperate to escape the war raging around them,” Donohoe and Byrne told us. “Their journey is both funny and heartbreaking and brings to life a time when ordinary people were trying to get on with their lives against the mounting daily death toll. For us, Skintown has the ability to tell our story in a way that has never been done before, and we couldn’t be more excited to work with Anthony Boyle and Josh Finan whose on screen chemistry is simply electric.”