12 Years a Slave (2013)

In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Faced with both her hot-tempered father’s fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.