BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD's Quvenzhané Wallis and Benh Zeitlin to Appear at Moving Image Screening Today, 11/3

Museum of the Moving Image presents a special screening of Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) with the film's child star Quvenzhané Wallis and director Benh Zeitlin in person today, November 3, 2012, at 4:30 p.m.

At the center of this raw and lyrical movie about a Louisiana island community on the brink of environmental disaster is the performance of Wallis as Hushpuppy, an imaginative young girl who was abandoned by her mother and left to care for her ailing father. First-time actress Wallis was just 5 years old when she was cast in the leading role as the strong-willed girl in this year's breakout American independent hit. The film also marks Zeitlin's directorial debut. The two will participate in a discussion after the screening.

Wallis's astonishing portrayal brings to mind some timeless screen performances by young actresses in movies that were also set in the American South. As part of the series Young Actresses, Big Roles, the Museum will also show To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), starring Mary Badham as the young Scout in Robert Mulligan's adaptation of Harper Lee's novel, today, November 3, at 1:00 p.m. and Peter Bogdanovich's Paper Moon (1973), with Tatum O'Neal in the role that won her an Oscar, on Sunday, November 4, at 1:30 p.m.

Tickets to all films are included with Museum admission and free for Museum members. For full film descriptions, visit movingimage.us. To learn about Museum membership and to join, go online to movingimage.us/support/membership or call 718 777 6877.