American filmmaker (born 1982)
Benh Zeitlin
Born Benjamin Harold Zeitlin
[1] (1982-10-14 ) October 14, 1982 (age 41) Occupation Filmmaker Notable work
Beasts of the Southern Wild Relatives Eliza Zeitlin (sister)
[2]
Benjamin Harold Zeitlin (;
[3] born October 14, 1982)
[4] is an American filmmaker, best known for writing and directing the 2012 film
Beasts of the Southern Wild , for which he received two
Academy Award nominations.
Early life
Zeitlin was born in Manhattan and raised in
Sunnyside, Queens , New York, and in suburban
Hastings-on-Hudson , NY.
[5] He is a graduate of
Hastings High School
[6] and
Wesleyan University .
[7] He was born to writers and
folklorists Mary Amanda Dargan and Steven Joel Zeitlin, who founded the NYC non-profit cultural organization
City Lore .
[1]
[8]
[9] His father, who is
Jewish , spent most of his childhood in Brazil; whereas his mother comes from a rural,
Protestant background in
Darlington, South Carolina .
[10]
[11]
[12] His younger sister is screenwriter and artist Eliza Zeitlin.
[2]
Career
In 2004, Zeitlin co-founded the Court 13 independent collection of filmmakers, named after a neglected Wesleyan University squash court that he and his friends had once commandeered as a filming location.
[13] His younger sister Eliza Zeitlin and he moved to
New Orleans while he was making his first short film, Glory at Sea , in 2008.
[2]
In 2012, Zeitlin's first feature,
Beasts of the Southern Wild , adapted from a play entitled Juicy and Delicious by
Lucy Alibar , won the
Caméra d'Or award at the
Cannes Film Festival , the Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the
Sundance Film Festival ,
[14] and the Grand Jury Prize at the
2012 Deauville American Film Festival . The film went on to earn the
Los Angeles Film Festival 's Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature and the
Seattle International Film Festival 's Golden
Space Needle Award for Best Director.
[15] Zeitlin was also given a Humanitarian Award for his work on the film at the
Satellite Awards 2012 .
[16] Notably, Zeitlin both directed Beasts of the Southern Wild and co-composed the score.
[17]
Zeitlin at the Fantasy Film Festival in Berlin, August 26, 2012.
For his directorial work and screenplay in Beasts of the Southern Wild , Zeitlin collected several additional awards and nominations.
[18]
[19]
[20] At the
Gotham Independent Film Awards in 2012, he won the
Breakthrough Director Award . At the same awards ceremony, Zeitlin received the inaugural
Bingham Ray Award , which honors the independent filmmaker who died in 2012.
[21] Zeitlin also won a
Humanitas Prize (as co-writer/director; shared with Alibar as co-writer), amongst other awards.
[22]
[23] He has also received two nominations at the
85th Academy Awards :
Best Director and
Best Adapted Screenplay (shared with Lucy Alibar), and the film itself was nominated for
Best Picture .
In 2019, it was revealed that Zeitlin was directing his next feature
Wendy in Montserrat, an island south of
Antigua . Inspired by
Peter Pan , Zeitlin described the film as 'a friendship-love story-adventure of her and a joyous, reckless, pleasure-mongering young boy as they swirl in and out of youth and as the ecosystem around them spirals toward destruction.'.
[24]
Filmography
Short film
Egg (2005)
Origins of Electricity (2006)
Glory at Sea (2008)
Feature film
Awards
Zeitlin was the 2012 recipient of
Smithsonian magazine's American Ingenuity Award in the Visual Arts category.
See also
References
^
a
b Derbes, Marie McCullough (July 25, 1994).
"David Shields McCullough and Anna Jane Smith: Their Ancestors and Descendants" . M.M. Derbes – via Google Books.
^
a
b
c
"Jews in the News: Benh Zeitlin, Winona Ryder and David Burd | Tampa JCCS and Federation" .
^
"BEASTS OF SOUTHERN WILD - Official Trailer - Introduced By Benh Zeitlin" . StudioCanal UK. July 10, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020 .
^ official catalogue of the Festival de Cannes 2012, p.73
^ Denby, David (29 June 2012).
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" . The New Yorker .
^ Arno, Iris Hiskey (March 2, 2008).
"Getting the Whole Picture, in and Out of Class" . The New York Times .
^
Beasts of the Southern Wild | 2012 Seattle International Film Festival | Benh Zeitlin | USA < Films
Archived May 29, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine . Siff.net. Retrieved on 2012-07-14.
^
Family reunions offer connection in world of high mobility, isolation . Bangor Daily News (1991-08-30).
^
Department of Folklore | Completed MA Theses
Archived January 20, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine . Mun.ca (2012-03-05). Retrieved on 2012-07-14.
^ Mann, Iris. (2012-06-13)
Ravages, rape, Rodriguez and real estate | Summer Sneaks
Archived 2012-08-18 at the
Wayback Machine . Jewish Journal. Retrieved on 2012-07-14.
^
"Benh Zeitlin: Conquering his 'Beasts' " . Jewish Journal . January 2, 2013.
^
COLUMN: Fantastic filmmaker has some Pee Dee ties . SCNOW.com (2012-03-18). Retrieved on 2012-07-14
^
Kenneth Rainin Foundation » BENH ZEITLIN
Archived August 19, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine . Krfoundation.org. Retrieved on 2012-07-14.
^
2012 Sundance Film Festival Announces Awards | Sundance Institute
Archived 2012-01-29 at the
Wayback Machine . Sundance.org (2012-01-28). Retrieved on 2012-07-14.
^
"Awards for Beasts of the Southern Wild" .
IMDb . Retrieved August 4, 2012 .
^
'Silver Linings Playbook' Wins Five Satellite Awards, Including Best Picture , Kilday, Gregg
The Hollywood Reporter December 16, 2012.
^ Buchanan, Kyle (July 5, 2012).
"Inside the Beasts of the Southern Wild Score" . Vulture . Retrieved January 29, 2015 .
^
Benh Zeitlin Awards and Nominations , Internet Movie Database. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
^
Best Director
Archived 2013-11-03 at the
Wayback Machine , Spirit Awards. By staff. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
^
Best Feature , Spirit Awards. By staff. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
^
Gotham Awards Winners , The Hollywood Reporter. Pages 1 &2. By staff. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
^
Feature Film Beasts
Archived January 7, 2013, at the
Wayback Machine , Sundance Institute. Feature Film Program. By staff. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
^
Benh Zeitlin awards , Internet Movie Database. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
^ Sharf, Zack (March 2, 2017).
"Benh Zeitlin May Finally Be Shooting His Follow-Up to 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' in the Caribbean" .
External links
Awards for Benh Zeitlin
Nebula Award for Best Script
Soylent Green –
Stanley R. Greenberg (1973)
Sleeper –
Woody Allen (1974)
Young Frankenstein –
Mel Brooks and
Gene Wilder (1975)
Star Wars –
George Lucas (1977)
The Sixth Sense –
M. Night Shyamalan (1999)
Galaxy Quest – David Howard and
Robert Gordon (2000)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon –
James Schamus , Kuo Jung Tsai, and
Hui-Ling Wang (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring –
Fran Walsh ,
Philippa Boyens , and
Peter Jackson (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers –
Fran Walsh ,
Philippa Boyens ,
Stephen Sinclair , and
Peter Jackson (2003)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King –
Fran Walsh ,
Philippa Boyens , and
Peter Jackson (2004)
Serenity –
Joss Whedon (2005)
Howl's Moving Castle –
Hayao Miyazaki , Cindy Davis Hewitt, and Donald H. Hewitt (2006)
Pan's Labyrinth –
Guillermo del Toro (2007)
WALL-E –
Andrew Stanton ,
Jim Reardon , and
Pete Docter (2008)
Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
International National Artists People Other