Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton won the Oscar for Live Action Short Film at the Academy Awards last night and Shenton has won praise for her acceptance speech.
The Silent Child tells the story of Libby, a deaf four-year-old, who is helped escape a silent life when a social worker (Shenton) teaches her sign language.
Upon accepting the award, Shenton said she had made a promise to the film's star - Maisie Sly - to sign her acceptance speech - a promise Shenton kept.
Rachel Shenton and Chris Overton - nominated for an Oscar for The Silent Child - arrive with the film's star, six-year-old Maisie Sly pic.twitter.com/vheAH1vEbn
— BBC News Entertainment (@BBCNewsEnts) March 4, 2018
People were delighted to see awareness of the disability being raised on such a global stage.
Best news of the #Oscars! Huge props to @RachelShenton and the @SilentChildFilm team for bringing this issue to light so beautifully. Let's have more mainstream screenings of the film in the UK so everyone here can see it. #deafnotstupid #DisabilityIsDiversity https://t.co/UHI3lNF7tc
— Sophia P-H (@SophiaPH) March 5, 2018