The Silent Child

"The Silent Child," Chris Overton, Rachel Shenton - A beautiful film with an important message about how deaf children need support and assistance in life and in school in order to develop fully to their potential, and the serious negative consequences that lack of support can have. I found this film to be quite touching. Beautifully directed, acting was phenomenal. Rachel Shenton should be a star. This is my personal pick for the live-action short film Oscar.

'THE SILENT CHILD': Four Stars (Out of Five)

A 20-minute short film about a four-year-old deaf girl, who's assigned a social worker to help her learn sign language, but her skeptical parents are highly resistant to it. This short was directed by Chris Overton and written by Rachel Senton. It's well made, but it's also quite depressing and frustrating at times too. The film deals with some annoyingly bigoted parents, that you learn to really dislike throughout the short (or at least I did). I also learned to really care for the young deaf girl though. It's well made and insightful too.

The mother was deaf in ways of her own, wasn't she? A touching story, beautiful cinematography, and a lovely pair of actors in the social worker and deaf child (Rachel Shenton and Maisie Sly), make this a good short, even if it is a little heavy-handed.

Joanne (Rachel Shenton) is the new tutor for a young deaf girl named Libby. Her mother is concerned about her learning sign language and would rather have her lip-reading. This leads to a conflict with Joanne who starts teaching the girl sign language.

This is an Oscar winning short. It's actually a very compelling two thirds of a movie. Shenton and the little girl are amazing together. It's emotional and it has a message. This would make for a nice stepping stone to a full length movie.

How often do you sit down and watch something, agree it's fundamentally incredible say it deserves to win an Oscar and it never does. Fortunately for this superb presentation justice has been served. The film itself is sensitive, thought provoking, and genuinely gives you a reasoned insight into what life must be like for Libby, the frustrations and struggles, but also the truth that the human spirit seems able to overcome anything. A heart breaking watch for most of us, but such an important message shared. Young Maisie Sly is absolutely incredible, how proud must her loved ones be of her. Wonderful.