Fox Searchlight saw it in Slumdog Millionaire four years ago, buying and releasing the Danny Boyle-directed drama centered on a young Indian man trying to convince authorities, through his own life flashbacks, that he did not cheat while a contestant on that country’s version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”
The studio saw it again in the movie that won the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the Louisiana Bayou-set story Beasts of the Southern Wild.
The “it” is a deeply profound, emotionally charged story woven with moments of tragedy and despair. As was the case with Slumdog, audiences are becoming attached to Beasts‘ main character, Hushpuppy. Told through a six-year-old girl’s eyes, the story centers on she and her father, Wink, who is seriously ill and determined to make sure she knows how to survive in the cut-off community where they live called The Bathtub.
The movie stars two non-actors, Quvenzhané Wallis (Hushpuppy) and Dwight Henry (Wink), as the father-daughter duo.
Already rightfully earning Oscar buzz, Beasts of the Southern Wild has all the elements that made Slumdog Millionaire the Best Picture Oscar® winner and made The Help one of the biggest, most-loved movies of last year. The charm, emotion and spirit are undeniable. And audiences at the L.A. Film Festival got to see it for themselves at the movie’s premiere Friday night, where director Benh Zeitlin and the stars walked the red carpet.
