8. Quvenzhane Wallis - Beasts Of The Southern Wild
If you thought Anna Paquin was young to earn an Academy Award at the age of 11, Quvenzhane Wallis very nearly set a new record of her own. At just 9 years old she picked up a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Benh Zeitlin's Beasts Of The Southern Wild. Set in the "Bathtub" community on the Louisiana Bayou, Beasts Of The Southern Wild follows the life of a child known as Hushpuppy (Wallis) as she deals with her incompetent and lazy father and tries to make ends meet in a world where most people have given up hope. Meanwhile, an approaching storm threatens to literally overhaul their lives. What makes Wallis's acting so affecting is the way in which Zeitlin's direction emphasises the world from her perspective, the camera glancing at objects which pique her interest or gazing at other characters from her perspective. In many ways this is one of the most authentic and naturalistic portraits of childhood in recent years.
