Synopsis
"The Silent Child" (2017) is a British short film you can watch online on iFILM — twenty minutes, directed by Chris Overton from a script by Rachel Shenton, who also plays social worker Jodie. It picked up the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film at the 90th Academy Awards.
Libby is four and deaf, living in a household where people speak constantly but never quite at her. When Jodie arrives and begins teaching her British Sign Language, Libby responds fast — she has had the capacity all along, just no way to use it. The film's unspoken tension comes from watching that window open while knowing the family may close it.
Maisie Sly plays Libby entirely without dialogue and lands every beat. The film doesn't argue a case — it just shows you what it looks like when a child is finally reached. Twenty minutes and genuinely hard to put down. Watch "The Silent Child" (2017) online on iFILM.
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