Jennifer Kent started off studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) where she learned acting and graduated in 1991. First, she worked primarily in front of the screen in the film industry for over two decades but eventually lost her passion for acting. By the end of the 1990s and sent a written proposal to Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, asking if she could assist on the film set of his working drama film, Dogville (2003), to learn from the director. Ken was accepted. Since then, she delivered a handful of short films, where we could stand the awards-winner Monster (2005) which served as a strong influence for her step to directing her first full length feature The Babadook (2014), about a widowed mother, plagued by the violent death of her husband, who battles with her son’s fear of a monster lurking in the house, soon to discover a sinister presence all around her.
Now she is back with her latest work, The Nightingale (2018). It is set in 1825, and centers a young Irish convict woman chases a British officer through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. On the way, she enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy, who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past. Aisling Franciosi, Baykali Ganambarr, Sam Claflin, Damon Herriman, Ewen Leslie, Charlie Shotwell, Harry Greenwood and Luke Carroll among others star in the film.
The Nightingale (2018) had its world premiere last September at the Venice Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion as Best Film, and Baykali Ganambarr won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor while Jennifer Kent won the Special Jury Prize for the movie. It was also one of the most celebrated titles at the Sundance Film Festival last January. The movie is set to hit theaters in the USA on the 2nd of August.
The second trailer for The Nightingale (2018) is already out and you can watch it here:
