‘Skintown’: Jack Rowan and Chris Walley Plot Escape From Troubles-Torn Northern Ireland — by Dealing Pills (Exclusive Clip)

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The Hollywood Reporter can unveil an exclusive clip from Kieron J. Walsh’s Edinburgh-bound Skintown, adapted from Ciarán McMenamin’s 2018 novel of the same name.

The coming-of-age(ish) tale is backdropped by the Troubles in Northern Ireland, following Vinny (Jack Rowan, Noughts + Crosses, Peaky Blinders) and Jonty (Chris Walley, The Young Offenders) during the 1994 IRA ceasefire as the young men party with friends, cut deals, and make plans to escape small-town life.

Set to earn its world premiere in competition at the Edinburgh International Film Festival this Sunday, Skintown also stars Derry Girls breakout Jamie-Lee O’Donnell and The Day of the Jackal‘s Hope Ikpoku Jnr.

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The clip released to THR shows Vinny and Jonty pulling up to famed Portrush nightclub Kelly’s tasked with selling stolen ecstasy pills. Walsh said about platforming the experience of young people growing up during the Troubles: “You’ve got all of the ’90s paraphernalia, the music, the clothes, the lifestyle. But it’s different in Northern Ireland. It’s just different, and it’s skewed because of all the other things that are going on. So [I hope Edinburgh audiences] have fun and look at a different world.”

Rowan added in a sit-down interview with THR: “This isn’t necessarily a film about the Troubles. It’s actually just a film about people just getting on with their lives… I would just hope people enjoy it, appreciate it, and have as much fun watching it as we did filming it.”

Festival producer Emma Boa said Skintown is “a propulsive, poignant period piece,” that balances “humor, wit and pathos… [With] a killer ’90s soundtrack featuring Prodigy, Elastica, Happy Mondays, Jeff Mills and Carl Cox.”

Visit Films is handling sales on Skintown. The 2026 Edinburgh Film Festival runs Aug. 13-19.

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