Little World - Screening Shorts

An animation about the difficulties faced by young deafened children. With her father too sick to care for her, Beth is left in the care of nuns in a school for girls. Initially unable to communicate with anyone there, Beth is left feeling isolated and often embarrassed. Over the years, she learns to cope, and eventually thrive, in her challenging circumstances.

Clip Details

Genre: Animation, Drama

Curriculum Area: Health and Wellbeing, Literacy and English, Expressive Arts, Religious and Moral Education, Modern Languages

Country of Origin: UK

Medium/Content: Colour, Sound, Fiction, 2D Animation

Themes: Communication, Culture/Society, Feelings, Health, Identify/Self, Intolerance/Misconceptions

Clip Length: 07:44

Age Group: P5-P7, S1-S3

Classroom Activities

01 Critical

Watch from 00:20 to 00:45 seconds. How does the filmmaker take the viewer back in time?
How does the viewer first understand that Beth is deafened?
What kind of shot is used in 03:05 to 03:11? What is the effect of this shot?
Freeze frame the film at 04:02, when Beth is at the window. Why has the filmmaker chosen to use this shot? What relationship is created between Beth and the viewer?
Watch the sequence from 04:24 to 05:26. What causes Beth’s nightmare to start? What do you notice about the use of colour in this sequence? Why do you think this has been used? How else is the nightmarish mood created?
Watch the sequence from 06:56 to 07:06 minutes. How is a sense of freedom created?
Why do you think the film is called ‘Little World’?
Why has the film mostly been made in black and white?

02 Cultural

How did this film make you feel? Did it challenge your preconceptions about deafened people in any way?
Do you think this film successfully communicates the challenges and emotions of a child with a hearing difficulty? Why/why not?
This film seems to be set in an earlier time of the 20th century. How might life have been more challenging for those with hearing difficulties back then? Why? Research and see if you can find out more about this.
What other films, TV shows, books, etc. can you think of that feature characters with hearing challenges? How are these characters represented? Are there enough representations of deafened people in the media? If not, why do you think this is the case?

03 Creative

WRITE

Write a diary entry or a short story from Beth’s point of view.
Imagine that you are Beth’s teacher, who initially keeps telling her off. Write a report card for Beth. Will the teacher be sympathetic or harsh?

FILMMAKING

Make a film for an audience of deafened people. Will you use BSL in it? Captions? Will you include any sound? How can you tell your story through only images?
Use the download facility on Screening Shorts and create a trailer for ‘Little World’.

DRAW

Find out how to sign the letters of your name and come up with a shorthand version for your name. Draw a poster of these.

MODERN LANGUAGES

Research BSL for some key words and phrases (for example, introducing yourself to someone). Practise these with a partner.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

It’s not only those who are deafened who struggle when starting a new school. How might a person feel on their first day at a new school? How could you help them?