Australian Story

Sophie Hyde is one of Australia's most successful directors, working with some of Hollywood's finest. But in her latest film she turns the spotlight on her own family.

Australian Story revisits Perth's Deirdre Croft three decades after it filmed her caring for her intellectually disabled son.

Over three decades, filmmaker Andrew Wiseman documented the life of Perth woman Deirdre Croft as she raised her son Richard, who was left with a profound intellectual disability following birth trauma.

Now 72-years-old, Deirdre has invited the cameras into her life again.

This time, as her health declines, Deirdre is on a mission to put in place a network of people to care for Richard after she's gone.

"I think she has been preparing for her death from day one with Richard," Wiseman tells Australian Story. "The pressure is now on Deirdre to work out who's going to look after Richard from this point on."

Wiseman began filming with the family when Richard was just 10, capturing confronting scenes as he had meltdowns in public, as well as moments of great tenderness. Richard is now 45.

"Deirdre loves, loves and loved Richard from the moment he was born," says her sister Frith Mooney. "She has given him her all."

Combining Wiseman's extraordinary documentaries with contemporary scenes, Raising Richard is a deeply moving portrait of a mother who believes her son has taught her the value of a human life.

"Who are we to judge when a person's life is worth living or not?" asks Deirdre. "Perhaps the real tragedy is … there are too many other so-called intellectually normal people who are severely handicapped in their capacity to care for others."

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