90th Oscars Backstage Interview Transcript: SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

SPEECH BY: Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton

FILM: "THE SILENT CHILD"

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Q. Congratulations on the win.  Just wanted to ask what it means to you and also what Maisie's reaction was when she found out?
A. (Rachel Shenton)  Thank you very much. 
A. (Chris Overton)  Surreal.
A. (Rachel Shenton)  It means the world to us, and not only us filmmakers and creators, but also the subject is incredibly close to my heart and I'm so, so proud of this for putting this disability that isn't talked about in front of a huge audience.  It's a story that just doesn't get told often, so I'm pretty proud of that as well.
A. (Chris Overton)  I did have a look up and I could see Maisie just shouting. 
A. (Rachel Shenton)  And I'm surprised she stayed awake, actually.  I'm really impressed.  She was super tired earlier.  So I'm really happy she stayed awake for our Oscar. 

Q. Hello.  Congratulations.  I think it's like this? 
A. (Rachel Shenton)  Yes.  Well done, yeah. 

Q. I wanted to ask, what do you think is the importance of short film in tackling issues that sometimes feature films can't?
A. (Chris Overton)  Well, the short films you don't really get that much exposure so, you know, they usually have strong messages.  All the nominees in this category have really strong messages.  So to have this kind of platform, you know, is just incredible and especially for this subject, you know, it's ‑‑ it usually gets swept under the carpet.  So this is huge for deafness and for deaf people. 

Q. Hi, Chris and Rachel.  I saw you last week so I'm really happy to see you again.  What were your challenges working on this project and then also what would that Oscar open for you, what opportunities?  Thank you.  Question from Bulgaria.
A. (Chris Overton)  The challenge was really working with a deaf child.  She's not only five, but she was deaf.  So we had the support of all of the crew but we made sure that we could get over that communication barrier, so we learned as much basic sign language as we could.  So that was very challenging, but also very rewarding. 
A. (Rachel Shenton)  And as well as all the other challenges that every ‑‑ pretty much every short film faces which is, it's not financially lucrative.  We didn't have a huge budget.  We crowdfunded on Indiegogo for this movie.  It was a real passion project from start to finish.  That, in itself, was a challenge.  And, but also getting people to ‑‑ to be aware of the subject isn't talked about.  So it was actually educating people and explaining what our movie was about.  Literally that was difficult because people really didn't understand it. 

Q. And what is the Oscar opening up for you?
A. (Chris Overton)  Well, you know, for everybody involved, not only subject matter.  That's great for the subject matter, but yeah.  I suppose it ‑‑ it may open some doors, which is exciting.

 

 


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