The Silent Child can be seen on Google Play, accessible either by the app or through the desktop site, currently for £1.49
The Silent Child, a short film about a deaf girl who is thought of as quiet until a social worker intervenes with communication support, has won the Oscar for Best Short Film, with writer and star Rachel Shenton signing as she gave her acceptance speech.
Shenton said: “I made a promise to our six-year-old lead actress that I would sign this speech, my hands are shaking a little bit so I apologise.”
“Our movie is about a deaf child being born into a world of silence. It’s not exaggerated or sensationalised for the movie.
“This is happening. Millions of children all over the world live in silence and face communication barriers, and particularly access to education.
“Deafness is a silent disability. You can’t see it and it’s not life threatening so I want to say the biggest of thank yous to the Academy for allowing us to put this in front of a mainstream audience.”
There’s a video of the moment Shenton and the film’s director Chris Overton picked up their awards, below. Overton said to Shenton in his acceptance speech: “It’s really your hard work for the last 12 years that has really made this project authentic.”
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Martyn
March 5, 2018
Magnificent achievement. I hope this is just the start of the story. For the moment, one young actress must feel 12 feet tall and millions of deaf youngsters will be inspired.