The Film

Blind Arc is a feature documentary following veterans with vision loss in Ukraine as they navigate life, reclaim independence, and rebuild their futures. 
They lost their sight, but not their vision. 
Through deeply personal storytelling, including sound recordings and film photography created by the veterans themselves, Blind Arc offers insight, honesty, and a first-person perspective into life after injury. 

Why This Film Matters

Thousands of soldiers return from war with life-changing injuries. Yet veterans who lose their sight often become the “invisible wounded.”
This film brings their experiences into the light by challenging public perceptions of blindness, trauma, and what it means to adapt, thrive, and lead. It’s not a story of pity. It’s a story of power.
As a filmmaker and the grandson of a World War II Royal Air Force veteran who went blind later in life, this is deeply personal. I watched the world turn away from him, how invisibility replaced honour. That’s when I started asking: What does it mean to see, to be seen, and to be remembered?

Rafael Cortes, director of Blind Arc

The director

Rafael Cortes is a British filmmaker whose creative journey is closely tied to the theme of vision loss. His grandfather, who served in the Royal Air Force, lost his sight after the Second World War — an experience that became a profound inspiration for Rafael’s artistic exploration.

His first short film on this subject, Door Out Of The Dark, told the story of a blind woman refusing to accept her new reality. In his next project, the documentary Underseen, he explored the lives of blind women who were reviving the Museum in the Dark “03:00” during the war in Ukraine.

With Blind Arc, Rafael continues this deep exploration of adaptation and the struggle to find a new vision of life in the face of profound change and loss.

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