For his directorial work and screenplay in '' Beasts of the Southern Wild '' , Zeitlin collected several additional awards and nominations . At the Gotham Independent Film Awards in 2012 , he won the Breakthrough Director Award . At the same awards ceremony , Zeitlin received the inaugural Bingham Ray Award , which honors the independent filmmaker who died in 2012 . Zeitlin also won a Humanitas Prize ( as co-writer/director ; shared with Alibar as co-writer ) , amongst other awards . He has also received nominations for two Academy Awards at the 85th Academy Awards : Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay ( Lucy Alibar , Benh Zeitlin ) , and the film itself was nominated for Best Picture
85th Academy Awards
85th Academy Awards
Benh Zeitlin