Beasts scores in London, Abu Dhabi and Hollywood!

This weekend was filled with good vibes!

Not only did we open theatrically across three countries, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Ireland, we were playing in theaters or festivals in at least five continents.  And, to cap it off, the incredible and incredibly humble, Benh Zeitlin was awarded The Sutherland / Best First Feature at the BFI London Film Festival and the New Horizon / Special Jury Award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

Back in the States on Monday, Quvenzhané Wallis will receive the New Hollywood Award at the Hollywood Film Awards, which honors the year's best new talent.  She'll be joined by Benh Zeitlin, Dwight Henry and Lucy Alibar on the red carpet.

We try not to make a big deal about awards and honors but like a proud mom/pop, we can't help but be thrilled for everyone involved in the journey that is Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Beasts at the Gotham Awards

Congratulations to Benh Zeitlin and Quvenzhané Wallis on their nominations for Breakthrough Director and Actor at this year's IFP Gotham Awards.  To be acknowledged by and amongst our esteemed and talented peers is truly an honor.  But, we're still in awe that this little film has resonated with so many of you.  Thanks to everyone.  We truly never would have gotten here without you.  Beast it!

Check out the full list of nominees at Deadline Hollywood.

The Girl from the Southern Wild

Elle magazine recently interviewed Beasts of The Southern Wild co-writer Lucy Alibar on her trials as a starving artist in New York City, her inspiration for writing Juicy and Delicious (the one-act play that was the springboard for Beasts), and how she managed to raise $650 dollars for a trip to Cannes. Hint: her going rate for hugs is $10.

"It was about a boy named Hushpuppy confronting the illness and death of his father, a man capable of enormous love but ­apparently ­incapable of putting that love into words.

She made Hushpuppy a boy instead of a girl because her feelings about the play’s subject were so raw. She conjured a place where ancient beasts were rampant, lemons flew through the air, and feral children ate cat food.

And then her old pal Zeitlin saw the play and told her he ­wanted to turn it into a film. And then they got support from Sundance. The 11-year-old boy became a six-year-old girl (played by the incandescent Quvenzhané Wallis), Hushpuppy and her father ­became black, the ancient beasts became the movie’s ­signature fantastical ­“aurochs,” and Georgia turned into an impoverished Mississippi River Delta community in Louisiana."

See the full interview at Elle.com.

Illustrated Beasts!

Thanks to the power of the internet, we stumbled on this amazing Beasts inspired illustration by artist Cameron Lewis.  Naturally, we had to reach out to him and find out more about his work!  He had this to say:

"With this illustration, I wanted to portray how Hushpuppy and the auroch were kindred spirits. They both represent this extinct way of life that's been separate from the rest of the world for years and years. And yet they endure, from Hushpuppy and Wink battening down the hatches in the face of a monstrous storm, refusing to leave their home, to the aurochs defiantly charging through gales of wind to get where they are going. Both Hushpuppy and the aurochs are beasts who have simply persevered and survived through this life.

I worked with Beasts cinematographer Ben Richardson last year on another project he was directing at the time. Through social media, I became more and more aware of the lead up to the film's premiere and it's incredible potential. I am so, so excited for both him and the film itself as it has been so enthusiastically received by critics, festivals, and moviegoers. Beasts of the Southern Wild is an absolutely gorgeous, lovingly made, and profoundly beautiful film and I can only hope I captured a single sliver of that beauty in my image."

This pencil sketch gives us a glimpse into Cameron's process.

Closeups reveal the level of detail of his illustration.

Cameron is a storyboard artist and illustrator living in Los Angeles, CA.  You can check out more of his work at his

website

and

sketch blog

.

Thanks to Cameron and everyone else that has expressed their enthusiasm and inspiration through art!  Sharing this story and having it retold to us through the creative lens of our community is an incredible honor that we never foresaw.

We welcome everyone and anyone to submit their work to us at beasts@beastsofthesouthernwild.com.

Co-Composer Dan Romer on East Village Radio

Beasts Co-Composer Dan Romer stopped by East Village Radio yesterday to get into the details of his collaboration with Benh Zeitlin, how he recorded the majority of the film's score in his Brooklyn apartment, and the secrets of transforming a single violin into sixty. This program stream includes a selection of New Orleans inspired tracks, followed by Dan's interview interspersed with several tracks from Beasts of the Southern Wild soundtrack.