The biggest stars of the film world will be joined on the Oscars' red carpet on Sunday by six-year-old Maisie Sly from Swindon.

The Silent Child is the first film the schoolgirl has appeared in, and it has been nominated for best short film in the live action category.

The film tells the story of a profoundly deaf girl called Libby, played by Maisie who is also deaf, who lives in a world of silence until a caring social worker teaches her the gift of communication through sign language.

Along with her family, Maisie has travelled to the US for the Academy Awards and they are living the high life in Hollywood.

But despite the fun they're all having, Maisie's father said the film carries a deeper message.

"I could gush all the time and say so many things about Maisie and how proud we are of her and as a family how proud we are," Gilson Sly told ITV News.

"It's what she's doing and the message that she's carrying within the film, it means so much to us as a family."

As well as its six-year-old protagonist, The Silent Child also features two former Hollyoaks stars.

Rachel Shenton, who played Mitzeee Minniver in the Channel 4 show,

Shenton wrote, produced and starred in the film after she became passionate about the issue when her father became deaf when she was young.

While Chris Overton, best known for playing Liam McAllister directed the film.

"I saw first-hand the huge effects deafness has on a person and their family," Shenton explained of her motive to create the film.

"I've seen the struggles that deaf people and deaf children face, which finally gave me the impetus to put pen to paper."

She continued that the film's nomination felt "totally surreal", and no matter the outcome on Sunday, she is "really content with everything that's happened".

The 30-year-old continued that just "to get a nomination... it's so exciting, we feel so honoured, so regardless of what happens on Sunday, absolutely mission accomplished.

"We've raised the profile of the movie and people have seen it."

Susan Daniels, chief executive of the National Deaf Children's Society, previously hailed the "incredible film" as "an incredible achievement...

"Rachel Shenton, who has been such a wonderful supporter of ours over the years, should be so proud of this fantastic achievement.

"For the 50,000 deaf children in the UK, and the millions of deaf children across the globe, this film shines such a powerful spotlight on so many of the issues deaf children face day in, day out.

"But just as importantly, this beautifully constructed film also makes the argument so powerfully that deaf children can absolutely achieve anything in life, as long as they are given the right support."