“One of the most striking films ever to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.” - Hollywood Reporter

Set in the lush southern Louisiana bayou, where six-year-old Hushpuppy lives with her father, Wink, in a sinkhole shantytown named The Bathtub, Beasts of the Southern Wild is part magic realist flood fable to rival Noah's and part dreamlike coming-of-age survival film. As Hushpuppy, splendidly played by Quvenzhané Wallis, leads us through her shabby, beautiful, post-apocalyptic surroundings - complete with prehistoric pig creatures - she weaves an ultimately upbeat modern-day mythology for our global warming-threatened world.

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the Camera d'Or at Cannes, Beasts of the Southern Wild marks the emergence of a major new talent in director Benh Zeitlin. With this debut, starring impressive non-professional actors and displaying a visual affinity with the likes of Terrence Malick, Zeitlin sets himself up as one to watch.

Benh Zeitlin is a guest of the festival.

D Benh Zeitlin P Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Josh Penn S Benh Zeitlin, Lucy Alibar Dist Icon TD DCP/2012

Read an extended article on Beasts of the Southern Wild at Senses of Cinema.