There’s been a lot of buzz within film circles about the movie Beasts of the Southern Wild ever since it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Up until now I’ve been somewhat puzzled as to what it might be about, but the strange imagery and imaginative title conjured up thoughts of something like Where the Wild Things Are in my mind. As it turns out, that might not be too far off, although the first trailer definitely leaves things feeling very abstract and very mysterious.

The story revolves around a six-year-old girl named Hushpuppy, who lives with her father Wink in a southern Delta community known as “the Bathtub.” When her father gets sick, nature is thrown out of balance and a storm rolls in, unleashing an army of prehistoric creatures known as “aurochs” into her world. Benh Zeitlin’s feature directorial debut is a Sundance Institute Feature Film Program project, and it looks pretty breathtaking. Something tells me this guy has a big career ahead of him. Beasts of the Southern Wild hits select theatres on June 27th; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.