Live in Chicago? Capone has seats for an advance screening of the Sundance and Cannes hit BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, with director and stars Q&A!!!

Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.

If you've been paying any kind of attention to coverage of either this year's Sundance Film Festival or the just-wrapped Cannes Film Festival, you probably noticed a shared film that rocked virtually everyone who saw it. That film is BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, the extraordinary feature film debut from director/co-writer Benh Zeitlin that won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance as well as a well-deserved award for cinematography. The film is both earthbound and other worldly, gritty and ethereal, real and surreal. At this point, it's difficult to imagine my end-of-year Top 10 list without BEASTS landing somewhere on it, kinda near the top. That being said, I don't even feel qualified to write about this film in detail without seeing it at least one more time.

And a big reason for the film working as well as it does has to do with the performances of Quvenzhane Wallis and Dwight Henry as a daughter and father living hand to mouth in the southern Delta at a time when, quite possibly, the world is coming to an end…or at least their small corner of it, as if there's a real difference as far as they're concerned. Some people have compared BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD to Terrence Malick and the early works of David Gordon Green. And while I certainly see the connections, Zeitlin goes into some dark places in his work that those two fine filmmakers never touched. Now I'm betting any film lover worth his/her salt is dying to see this movie, and now about 100 Ain't It Cool News readers in Chicago will get a chance…

I have 100 reserved seats (each winner can bring one guest) to give away to an advance Chicago screening of BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD on Sunday, June 10 at 7:00pm (PLEASE NOTE THIS IS TAKING PLACE ON A SUNDAY) at a theater in Chicago (the exact location will only be given to winners). As an added bonus, we'll have a post-screening Q&A with director/co-writer Benh Zeitlin, and stars Quvenzhane Wallis and Dwight Henry. Here's how to win tickets…

Send me an email at BeastsChicago@aintitcoolmail.com (please note the new email address) with the subject line "Welcome to the Bathtub!" (exactly like that). In the body of the email, I need your full Name, whether or not you're bringing a Guest (winners may bring ONE GUEST, but guests' names are not required), and the answer to the following question (read carefully): "What is your favorite that you would describe as 'magical,' and why?" So what I'm looking for is a film title, and a convincing argument that your pick is the best. Obviously, I'm keeping things vague, so you can define "magic" however you'd like.Keep your responses BRIEF--no more than 75 words (no matter how tempted you are to go over the limit). People with the most interesting and original answers win. Winners will be notified over the weekend.

Although this is not an exclusive Ain't It Cool News event, winners' seats will be held until 30 minutes before showtime (6:30pm), at which time any empty seats in our rows will be given away. So you should arrive early to make sure you get in and get a good seat. If you can't arrive early, don't enter this contest. If there's even the slightest chance you or your guest will have to back out of attending or arrive late if you do win, don't enter. If you have a job that might make you late or unable to attend, or an ill/pregnant relative, or a temperamental significant other, or a scratchy throat, do not enter.

Good luck, everyone! And thanks to Fox Searchlight for giving us this very cool screening and bringing these talented guests to Chicago.

-- Steve Prokopy
"Capone"
capone@aintitcool.com
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