Associate Producer John Williams '06 screened and discussed the making of the Academy Award-nominated Beasts of the Southern Wild during a panel discussion with students. Williams was joined by producers Matt Parker, Michael Gottwald, and Dan Janvey.

This magical fable is set in the Bathtub, a predominantly African American Louisiana bayou community, and narrated by a six-year-old girl named Hushpuppy. Its unique storytelling blurs the boundaries between her inner and outer worlds. The film's behind-the-scenes story is almost as fantastical. Beasts of the Southern Wild was produced on a shoestring by a team of recent college grads and friends, including Williams, who majored in film and media studies as a student.

The little film that could of 2012, Beasts won the Sundance Grand Jury prize and the Cannes Film Festival Camera d'Or, and it has now earned several Oscar nominations, including for Best Directing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actress. This event was a unique opportunity to experience this film on the big screen and to talk with rookie producers about getting an independent vision out in the world.