[3][4] In 1983 Shaffer co-directed and co-produced Nicaragua: Report From the Front,[5] and in 1985 she directed Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements,[6] about an American doctor who turned against his role as an Air Force pilot in Vietnam, and became a doctor working behind the lines during the civil war in El Salvador.
[7] In 1987 she directed and co-produced Fire From the Mountain,[8] based on the memoir of Nicaraguan revolutionary Omar Cabezas, which premiered at the New York Film Festival and played at Sundance.
In 2010 Shaffer was a co-producer and co-director of To Be Heard,[10] which premiered at DOC NYC, winning the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award.
In addition to her independent work as a director and producer, Shaffer has directed films for television including Secrets Underground (WGBH, 1994) which won a Christopher Award; 2 one-hour episodes of Art 21: Art for the 21st Century in 2003 (PBS), and Ladies First: The Women of Rwanda (co-director and writer) in 2004 (WNET) which won an Emmy.
Shaffer has executive produced several films, including the Academy Award nominated short Asylum in 2004, and Very Semi Serious (HBO) in 2013.