Ciara Schaefer
In Her Hands is an intimate portrait of Alexis, a deafblind woman living in Ireland. Using hand-under-hand Irish Sign Language and braille, Alexis has built a rich and expressive way of engaging with the world around her.
Through her voice and sister Jackie, the film reflects on their shared past, tracing the gradual impact of Usher syndrome and the emotional shifts it brought to their family, communication, and sense of closeness.
As the documentary unfolds, it builds toward a reunion in Cork, where Alexis and Jackie come together to mark the second anniversary of their mother’s passing. Centred not on limitation, but on empowerment and the many ways people try to understand and be understood.
In Her Hands began with the aim of creating a visually immersive documentary rooted in the idea of visual haptics, which is a cinematic approach that uses texture, movement, proximity, light, and physical detail to evoke the sensation of touch through image. A key challenge, was how should I represent people who don't experience the world through vision and sound in and audio-visual medium such as film? This complex subject of representing deafblindness in the film medium, immediately pushed me out of my comfort zone and I was excited for the journey of discovery ahead.
Originally, the documentary intended to follow three deafblind contributors in order to explore the vast variety within deafblindness and challenge common assumptions surrounding it. As the project developed, the focus naturally narrowed to one contributor, allowing for a more intimate and emotionally grounded portrait of her life, relationships, loss and methods of communication.
Throughout production, I learned basic sign language to better communicate with and understand my subject’s lived experience. Building this connection deeply influenced both my approach to directing and the trust formed during filming. More than anything, the project became an exploration of human connection, patience, and the many ways people experience and communicate within the world around them.
In Her Hands became one of the most transformative projects of my filmmaking journey. Directing the documentary taught me the importance of patience, trust, and genuine human connection within storytelling. The discovery of the deafblind community has been life-changing for me and is something that I want to continue pursing beyond college. Building a relationship through sign language and non-verbal communication changed the way I approach both filmmaking and collaboration.
The project pushed me creatively, physically and mentally. It is safe to say this is the most complex and toughest project I have ever encountered yet has been the most fulfilling film I’ve created that I’m immensely passionate about continuing to pursue. It strengthened my skills as a documentary director while deepening my understanding of ethical and human-centred storytelling.
Most importantly, the film reinforced why I want to make films by creating work that emotionally connects with people, encourages empathy, and opens audiences to perspectives they may never have experienced before.
This dissertation examines the representation of people with sensory disabilities specifically Deaf, Blind, and Deafblind individuals in documentary filmmaking, asking how documentary form can either reinforce or challenge exploitative modes of representation.
Interrogating disability studies and documentary theory, this thesis draws on Bill Nichols’s documentary modes, Stella Bruzzi’s concept of performative authorship, Laura U. Marks’ theory of haptic visuality and Vivian Sobchack’s phenomenological perspective to interrogate how power operates aesthetically and structurally within nonfiction film.
The thesis focuses on a comparative analysis of three key documentaries: Werner Herzog’s The Land of Silence and Darkness (1971), James Spinney and Peter Middleton’s Notes on Blindness (2016), and Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim’s Deaf President Now! (2025). Through close textual analysis, the dissertation evaluates how observational distance, sensory immersion, participatory authorship, and archival storytelling shape audience perception of sensory disability.
Alongside this research, also incorporates a practice-led component through the production of the author’s graduate short documentary, In Her Hands, filmed at the Anne Sullivan Centre for people who are deafblind in Ireland.
Ciara Schaefer is an award-winning Irish filmmaker whose work is driven by a deep curiosity for human connection. Ciara is a 2026 graduate from the National Film School at IADT majoring in Directing Documentary and Producing.
Ciara is drawn to stories that encourage empathy and challenge audiences to experience perspectives outside of their own, inspiring her creation of, In Her Hands, a documentary centred on the life of a deafblind woman and the profound ways she communicates and experiences the world through touch. Alongside directing, she has built significant experience behind the camera and in production, by producing the ambitious final-year production Splinters, where she further refined her collaborative and leadership skills.
