The Séamus Ennis Arts Centre – Urchin
Mike is homeless and struggling with addiction when he is sent to jail for mugging a man. After release, he is put into temporary accommodation and manages to get a job as a chef. Clean and determined to start a new life, he makes new friends and attempts restorative justice with the man he assaulted. However, his short temper and limited patience often get the better of him – sending him spiralling back towards self-destructive old habits.
Harris Dickinson proves to be as talented a director as he is an actor with his debut directorial feature. Urchin is an unusually frank and empathetic portrayal of homelessness and addiction, with Mike vividly brought to life through a phenomenal performance from Frank Dillane.
Festivals:Cannes Film Festival 2025
Awards:Winner – Best Actor, Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival 2025
Reviews:“★★★★ [Frank] Dillane’s performance shows Mike’s nervy, twitchy, livewire mannerisms have been cultivated over what feels like a lifetime of abandonment.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“★★★★ Everything rests on Dillane’s powerhouse turn and the writer-director’s compassionate, daring script.” – Tara Brady, The Irish Times
“Dickinson’s film… reflects a mature, and frequently harrowing, recognition of how people can be held captive by the centrifugal force of their own behavioural patterns.” – David Ehrlich, Indiewire
The Séamus Ennis Arts Centre – Urchin
Main St,
Naul,
Naul Village,
Fingal,
Co. Dublin,
K32 AY27
