Project Detail

Hello Stranger

Mother Beryl with her newly adopted son Nathan

Synopsis

Following the director, Beryl Richards's adopted son, Nathan/Joe’s, journey from a one-year-old to adulthood, told from the viewpoints of parent and child.
Joe wants to make this film so people ‘get’ him, know what it means to be neurodivergent, and what he has been able to achieve despite many challenges. Beryl shows the evolution of a family created from scratch that’s had to keep adapting. The challenge and recalibration of being a parent and a lifetime carer.
The core of the story is told through 28 years of home movie footage- sparky, warm and funny as Nathan/Joe develops into the man he is today. Alongside, a growing boy is shown, much misunderstood and almost destroyed by the prejudice and ignorance surrounding neurodivergence. The family therapy received along the way offers some support, but also reveals how the family dynamic was influenced by Beryl’s own experience of childhood neglect.
Beryl first saw 6-month-old Nathan on a VHS tape. She and husband Dave responded with a video welcoming him to their home. For the past 28 years Beryl has recorded “our feelings, our joy and our pain" so that Nathan could better understand his story later in life.

Details

Year
2026
Type of film
Features
Running time
87 min
Format
Digital
Director
Beryl Richards
Producer
John Archer, Alex Usborne
Executive Producer
Lisa Marie Russo, Clara Glynn
Editor
James Alcock
Composer
Stephen Warbeck

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Hopscotch Films

John Archer
Film City Glasgow
401, Govan Road
Glasgow
G51 2QJ

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