When You Are Close to Me

Synopsis

A world of silence and darkness. A world of things unspoken and unseen. It is the world in which deaf, blind and deafblind people spend their entire lives. But it is also a world full of fantasy, joy and an excited sensitivity towards outside stimuli, touches and vibration. The immense power of physical contact with and the closeness of caregivers is an energizing element in this humanist documentary exploration of the world of people with vision and hearing impairments. The filmmaker patiently observes the lives of patients living in the specific conditions of institutional existence and opens up her observations to a wide range of possible forms of communication and sharing, while also showing an understanding for the hard work and absolute exhaustion of the caregiving personnel.