"Juicy and Delicious" by Lucy Alibar

One of the breakthrough independent films this year is the emotion-driven, child-centered The Beasts of the Southern Wild. The story of a young girl and her father's struggles in the bayou of Louisiana was originally developed as a father/son drama in the one-act play "Juicy and Delicious" by Lucy Alibar. One of the most acclaimed aspects of the film is the performance of nine-year old Quvenzhané Wallis, the youngest person to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Insterestingly enough, Wallis' character Hushpuppy was originally a boy.

Ms. Alibar talks about the amazing success of the cinematic version of her story. The screen play was co-written by her and director Benh Zeitlin, both of whom are nominated for Oscars this year. There's a terrific interview on the Barnes and Noble Review website in which Alibar discusses the challenges she faced in transfering her original play to the screen, as well as her reasons behind turning a father-and-son tale into a unique father/daughter relationship.