Discovery Film Festival: Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake

Olivia, her little brother Tim, and their mother Ingrid are forced to leave their home and start over in a different neighbourhood. While Ingrid struggles to resolve the situation, Olivia invents a protective fantasy for herself and her brother: everything they're experiencing isn't real; they're filming a movie. But this fantasy has unexpected consequences. Fortunately, a new family forms around them, with whom they'll experience incredible adventures. Amid laughter, tears, magic, and friendship, they will discover they are indeed the incredible everyday heroes of their own lives.

Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake tackles, from a child’s point of view, difficult subjects with great tenderness and a real warmth. Set in the vibrant and colourful streets of Barcelona, the film captures the city’s spirit, energy, and close-knit communities willing to step up to help each other. This beautiful stop-motion animation allows young audiences to embrace the story from a “safe distance”, without being overwhelmed by its realism, but still identifying with the characters. An ode to life, the film shows us the importance of community and being able to ask for help, and the vital power we all have: the ability to choose how we respond to what happens to us.

Teacher Quote:

‘Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake provides an excellent opportunity to explore themes of mental health, resilience and change through the eyes of a young person. Its beautiful animation helps communicate complex emotions in an accessible way, while the subtitles encourage learners to engage with multilingual texts. 

Film is a powerful tool in the classroom, offering high levels of engagement while supporting literacy, comprehension and critical thinking. As Scotland's Film Education framework develops, films like this allow learners not only to analyse moving image texts but also to explore how stories can be told through filmmaking and animation.’ - Sarah Sturrock