The Oscars didn't just honor disability through "The Shape of Water" and its mute protagonist. The Academy also awarded Best Live Action Short Film to "The Silent Child", a portrait of Libby, a girl deaf from birth. The film stars six-year-old Maisie Sly, a deaf actress who communicates only in sign language. It marks the directorial debut of actor Chris Overton, who learned sign language to work with his young lead. Alongside Sly, actress Rachel Shenton — who wrote the screenplay and based it on her own father's deafness, which followed chemotherapy when she was twelve — delivers a quietly powerful performance. When Shenton accepted the award, she kept a promise to her young co-star: to deliver her acceptance speech in sign. "Our film tells the story of a deaf child born into a world of silence," she said. "That's what happens: millions of children worldwide live in silence and face communication barriers, especially in access to communication itself. Deafness is an invisible disability. That's why I want to thank the Academy for allowing us to show this to such a wide audience." Already available on Vimeo for private viewing, the film airs for the first time on Studio Universal Monday, March 26 at 8:40 p.m. as part of the magazine program "A noi piace corto."
Set in rural England, "The Silent Child" follows Libby from birth into early childhood. Her family belongs to the middle class: two older brothers, a mother stretched thin by her obligations, a father consumed by work. Her parents search for ways to give Libby the tools she needs to navigate the hearing world that awaits her. A social worker, played by Rachel Shenton, becomes the one who teaches her sign language — and finally breaks the silence.
Source: Redattore Sociale