by TIM MASTERS
Quvenzhane Wallis gives a sparkling performance in low-budget hit Beasts of the Southern Wild. Could she become the youngest actress ever to be nominated for an Oscar?
Quvenzhane Wallis was just five years old when she auditioned for Beasts of the Southern Wild, and seven when filming ended.
Set in a cut-off area of southern Louisiana, known as the Bathtub, the movie has earned critical acclaim on the festival circuit, scooping prizes at Sundance and Cannes.
But it is Quvenzhane’s performance that is stealing headlines. The film’s director, Benh Zeitlin, describes her as a “wise, wise person in a tiny, tiny body”.
Oscar pundits predict she could be the youngest best actress nominee in Academy Awards history. But Quvenzhane isn’t letting the Oscar talk go to her head.
“I really don’t think about it that much, but I’d be like yes, yes, yes,” she says, ahead of a screening of Beasts of the Southern Wild at the London Film Festival.
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