Beasts of the Southern Wild Poster

Beasts of the Southern Wild won the Grand Journey Prize at Sundance this year, and it's generating some muted Oscar buzz already, with some comparing it to the magnetic magic of Slumdog Millionaire.  Just like Slumdog, Fox Searchlight is releasing the movie, and the studio knows how to shepherd a movie to Oscar glory almost as well as the Weinsteins (well, maybe not almost as well, but they've done good work with hits like Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, and Black Swan).

The film centers on a six year-old girl named Hushpuppy who must deal with her father's illness and a series of strange, apocalyptic events that may be signaling the end of the world, and certainly point to the end of the world as she knows it.  It sounds like a fresh take on the familiar coming-of-age tale, thanks to both director Behn Zeitlin and star Quvenzhane Wallis (try saying that one ten times fast... or at all).

Beasts of the Southern Wild comes to theaters June 27.  Expect a trailer soon.