While the story itself is a work of fiction, McMenamin said the world of Skintown is very much based on his own personal experiences of a teenager growing up during the Troubles in Northern Ireland and trying to escape that.
“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.”
The soundtrack will also help transport the audience back in time with Prodigy, Elastica, Happy Mondays and Carl Cox featuring.
Despite starring Derry Girls’ O’Donnell and Tara Lynne O’Neill, McMenamin said that’s where the comparisons end with Lisa McGee’s hit show, which was also set during the same period in Northern Ireland.
“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.”
