Roach is currently in development and will begin filming in 2026.

Roach - short film

Wellington Films
Big Buddha Films

Written by Laura Bayston
Directed by Debbie Howard
Produced by Rachel Robey and Alistair Clark

Emma is a jaded care home nurse for the elderly. The arrival of a new resident, Joseph, threatens everything she believes about herself and her job. Mid-forties and single, she lives alone. Still struggling to make sense of the loss of her older brother to suicide three decades before.

A new colleague, Pete, evokes a shift. A former soldier and recovering alcoholic he is striving for a fresh start. A distant connection draws them together, and they click with an unspoken, emotional bond.

One night Pete shows up drunk at Emma's door in the early hours, unexpectedly opening up about how Joseph’s arrival has has knocked him of course. Joseph ran a boxing club for boys in the 1980's, and while Pete struggles to articulate the sexual abuse that took place at the club, Emma joins the dots between Joseph, Pete and her brother’s suicide.

Fearing the potential outcome caused by Pete’s mental state and burdened by guilt of not having been able to save her brother, Emma is confronted with a dilemma - one that challenges her every moralistic belief as both a nurse and a human. But will she take it?