"Little Fugitive" became the first independent film to be nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the American Academy Awards. It also received Silver Lion at Venice. Both Engel and Anger's films won acclaim overseas from the burgeoning French New Wave, with "Fireworks" inspiring praise and an invitation to study under him in Europe from Jean Cocteau, and François Truffaut citing "Little Fugitive" as an essential inspiration to his seminal work, "The 400 Blows". As the 1950s progressed, the new low-budget paradigm of filmmaking gained increased recognition internationally, with films such as Satyajit Ray's critically acclaimed "Apu Trilogy" (1955–1959).