IFC and writer/director Jennifer Kent had great success working together on Kent's feature debut THE BABADOOK, and now they're working together again for the U.S. release of Kent's new film, a thriller titled THE NIGHTINGALE.
Starring Aisling Franciosi, Sam Claflin, Damon Herriman, and Baykali Ganambarr, THE NIGHTINGALE tells the story of
a 21-year-old Irish convict named Claire who struggles to be free from an abusive master, Lieutenant Hawkins, after she finishes her 7-year sentence in 1820s Tasmania. After Hawkins commits a horrible crime against Claire’s family she is forced to pursue him through the punishing wilderness with the help of Billy, a young Aboriginal tracker.
IFC is planning to give THE NIGHTINGALE a theatrical release sometime in the summer of 2019. The company's EVP of Acquisitions and Productions, Arianna Bocco, says this is a film that's "going to start a lot of conversations".
In addition to writing and directing the film, Kent also produced it with Kristina Ceyton, Bruna Papandrea, and Steve Hutensky. Brenda Gilbert, Jason Cloth, Aaron L. Gilbert, Ben Browning, and Alison Cohen serve as executive producers.
Kent told Variety that THE NIGHTINGALE is
a study on violence and what a violent mind and therefore a violent society can do to damage the human spirit. It’s about how we can evolve through and beyond that violence. For me THE NIGHTINGALE is about love — not in a schmaltzy way — but its power to allow us to evolve as human beings."
I thought THE BABADOOK was great, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what Kent has to offer with THE NIGHTINGALE.