Too Rough - www.cinemabang.com

Based on events in Lionadh’s own life, the film was produced by Alfredo Covelli and Ross McKenzie. “Too Rough” follows Nick (Ruriadh Mollica), a young gay man who, after a night of intoxication wakes up next to his boyfriend Charlie (Joshua Griffin) and must conceal him from his homophobic and dysfunctional family.

Speaking about the film, Lionadh had this to say about the film:

“What first drew me to the story was Nick, the protagonist. I loved the contrast in him - the softness and sensitivity that had been hardened by his upbringing. The whole film was really me trying to put him through enough Hell to finally make him crack, which sounds sadistic... But I see so many people (myself included) turn away from love because it can threaten so many of the defence mechanisms you’ve put in place to survive. Love means letting down your guard, and when someone is used to abuse, this is incredibly difficult. “Too Rough” allowed me to put so many of my own experiences into one small, claustrophobic setting - so much in it is inspired by real events, I even had a social worker who took her orders from God (who gave terrible orders!). Telling this story gave me the strange sensation of seeing some things that had happened to me as a third party. I felt a real catharsis in watching Nick being loved and accepted, despite his background and the dysfunction he’s been raised in. ‘Am I too rough for you?’ I often think in relationships. I’m always worrying if I’m too damaged or jagged for a normal relationship. And this film is the story of what I’ve always found to be true - keeping secrets is what gets in the way, telling the truth about yourself is what makes the love happen.”