Benh Zeitlin

Benh Zeitlin was born in Sunnyside, Queens, New York, on October 14, 1982. From his parents, who liked to travel the width and length of the United States with him and his little sister, he acquired a taste for national folklore. , and more specifically by the southerner, which will be decisive for the constants of a filmography that has only just begun. But the future filmmaker also fed on other myths more typical of American childhood, since he claims the legend that at the age of six he already made a Batman movie with a friend. He would continue to make movies as an amateur, but at the same time he graduated from Wesleyan University with a film degree; Eager to complete his training, he also traveled to Europe, and acquired training as an animator in Prague, since he was attracted to the figure of Jan Svankmajer, and was able to meet some of his collaborators in the capital of the Czech Republic. Although his career as an animator has been brief -in 2005 he made the short Egg , inspired by “Moby Dick”, and the following year The Origins of Electricity , a short that pays homage to the inventors of electricity-, and he assures that he cares more about stories that the fact of telling them with actors or with animation, this animated knowledge influenced him, he likes Disney movies or a title like Nimh, the secret world of Mrs. Brisby .

In 2004 he founded Court 13 with several friends, an independent company with which he has made all his films. The name alluded to the place where they used to play squash. The move to New Orleans would prove important in Zeitlin’s life. The floods and devastation caused by Katrina inspired his medium -length film Glory at Sea in 2008 , a clear precedent for Beasts of the Wild South(2012), in fact, he considers both films a kind of diptych. Of course, everything points to a mythological creation in a realistic environment, where the force of nature and more specifically of water is seen, and children and the family are important, the use of voice-over, the visual power of the images or a soundtrack composed by Zeitlin himself. Courage in the face of adversity and a certain spirituality are well present, although the director says he is not overly religious, he does admit to feeling inspired by the Bible, and considers it important to look at God and transcendence.

The awards have rained down thanks to Beasts of the Wild South , Camera d’Or at Cannes and the Jury Award at Sundance. What could be considered an exotic and somewhat cryptic story in the Bathtub, a post-apocalyptic landscape, has managed to strike a chord with half the planet, who admire the innocence and courage of the little protagonist Hushpuppy, a girl who in a desolate world she keeps hope alive thanks to an unusual force that beats inside her, and that neither the absence of the dead mother, nor the problems of the father, nor the adverse nature, demolishes her, she is special, and she knows it without knowing it. With non-professional actors, a tight budget and a difficult shooting environment, Zeitlin has achieved the miracle of making a good film, helped by the Sundance Institute, among others.

At barely 30 years old, Zeitlin is savoring the sweetness of success, and wants to continue making films in that mythological terrain that he has contributed to creating, and he hopes that through Court 13 they will continue to make films in that very special universe, which is unlike any other. another one we’ve seen before.