Indie film 'Beasts' a fearless success New York: On the first day newcomer director Benh Zeitlin began shooting his mythical, apocalyptic low-budget film, Beasts of the Southern Wild, he had a real life disaster to deal with - the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The sense of impending danger only served to heighten the rugged, mystical tension Zeitlin was aiming for in his acclaimed indie film that stars non-actors as a father and daughter facing environmental threats on the impoverished watery fringes of southern Louisiana.

"The oil spill happening created this sort of strange, life imitates art on set that was going on as we were shooting," said Zeitlin in an interview. "The whole time you would wake up in the morning and check the oil and it would get closer and closer ... it was really eerie."

But the struggles to make Zeitlin's debut feature film have clearly paid off....more    
05:38 PM, Jun 28, 2012