Oisín-Tomás Ó Raghallaigh is a 25-year-old Irish filmmaker. A film lover, he directed his first short film 'Attraction' in 2016 and has continued to develop his skills and make short films.

“As a filmmaker with multiple disabilities, I have always been passionate about exploring disability-related issues and have long recognised the profound power of art in transforming personal realities into emotionally intimate expressions of personal truth. This inspired me to create our short documentary ‘Beyond Words’, exploring the connection between disability and art. The film is a meditative journey into the creative practices of two incredible artists: Joe, a blind musician, and Suzii, a ceramist living with chronic pain. For both, the artistic process is more than a vocation, functioning as vital process of empowerment, healing and testimony. Inspired by the contemplative nature of slow cinema, we chose to employ a slow pace across the film, to create a meditative atmosphere. Visually, the documentary consists of the intimate capture of the artistic process—from Suzii's hand moulding clay to Joe strumming his guitar. Lingering on these moments treats each small artistic act as quietly beautiful, reflecting how Joe and Suzii described their creative processes as transformative and sacred. Reflective voiceover, on the other hand, guides the narrative, with our subjects providing emotionally vulnerable insights on living with disability, the power of artistic creation and the need to challenge an ableist society. Collaboration was central throughout production, which is why the voiceover became the primary method through which disability is explored. The interviews prioritized providing subjects maximum autonomy to discuss what they wanted to. We felt as filmmakers it was not our job to lead this process or attempt to extract a predetermined narrative -we instead focused on creating a safe space for our subjects to define their own experiences of disability and creativity, on their own terms. Ultimately, ‘Beyond Words’ is an invitation to listen to disabled voices. If audiences leave the documentary with a deeper understanding of disabled artists, and a little more empathy, then the film will have done its job.”