Winner of the £50,000 Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence, EIFF 2026 | Directed by Kieron J. Walsh | 99 mins
Skintown arrived at the 79th Edinburgh International Film Festival as one of the buzziest titles in competition and left as its crowned champion, winning the audience-voted £50,000 Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence. It’s a richly deserved result for one of the most alive, funny and emotionally gutting British-Irish films in years.
Adapted from Ciaran McMenamin’s 2018 novel of the same name, the film follows Vinny (Jack Rowan, of Noughts + Crosses and 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. That town is Enniskillen, nicknamed Skintown, and Vinny has grown up Catholic there knowing nothing but gun-happy British soldiers on the streets and the constant, real threat that a bomb could go off at any moment. The urgency to get out isn’t just youthful restlessness. It’s survival.
Skintown is blessed with a smart script and a talented, committed young cast who create believable, sympathetic characters. At a lean 99 minutes, Skintown doesn’t outstay its welcome. That Edinburgh audiences voted it above nine strong competitors says everything. A vivid portrait of disenfranchised youth, 90s rave culture and a turbulent period in recent Irish history, Skintown is exactly the kind of film festival prizes exist to champion. Now the rest of the world needs to see it.