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somebody to love

"We're all like you - we're all people": Irish documentary explores sexuality and disability

The experiences of married couples, new parents and young people navigating new relationships are all examined in this tender programme.

http://youtu.be/t8uwsqM3L5Q

(RTÉ/YouTube)

THE LOVE LIVES and relationships of differently-abled people in Ireland are explored in a new documentary to be screened on RTÉ One tonight.

Somebody to Love is a tender and honest look at the relationships and sexuality of people who have intellectual and physical disabilities.

“We’re all like you – we’re all people,” said Kieran Coppinger – a Galwegian actor from Blue Teapot Theater, which was founded in the Brothers of Charity Service – who stars in the documentary.

This is our story; our need to be loved.

It’s directed by Anna Rodgers and produced by Zlata Filipovic, a team who won the Absolut/GAZE Filmmaker award in 2011 and who have made shorts and documentaries on sexuality, relationships and LGBT issues.

In Somebody to Love, they look at familial and sexual relationships between people who have different abilities, from young people with Down syndrome to parents with cerebral palsy; and people who find themselves with different abilities after accidents to couples negotiating new sexual relationships.

Their Stand Up campaign video against homophobic bullying, which was made for Belong To youth services, has received almost 1.5million views online.

You can catch Somebody to Love at 9.35pm tonight on RTÉ One.

Read: Anti-homophobic bullying ad hits half-million views mark on YouTube>

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