Jennifer Kent’s ‘The Nightingale’ Acquired by IFC Films Ahead of Sundance
Follow-up to “The Babadook” won Special Jury Prize at 2018 Venice International Film Festival
Brian Welk | January 9, 2019 @ 8:17 AM
Last Updated: January 9, 2019 @ 8:26 AM
IFC Films
IFC Films has acquired the U.S. rights to “The Nightingale,” the latest film from Jennifer Kent, the Australian director of “The Babadook,” an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.
IFC Films is re-teaming with Kent after distributing “The Babadook” in 2014. The film made $10.3 million worldwide. IFC is planning a summer release for “The Nightingale,” picking up the thriller ahead of its North American premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
“The Nightingale” premiered at the 2018 Venice International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize, as well as the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Performer for Baykali Ganambarr.
The film stars Sam Claflin (“The Hunger Games”) and Aisling Franciosi (“Game of Thrones”) and is set on one night in 1820s Tasmania. Here’s the synopsis via the Sundance website:
Clare, a young Irish convict, loses everything she holds dear after her family is horrifically attacked. She’s immediately driven to track down and seek revenge against the British officer who oversaw the horror, so she enlists the service of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy. Marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past, Billy reluctantly agrees to take her through the interior of Tasmania. On this brutal quest for blood, Clare gets much more than she bargained for.
Kent’s “The Babadook” also premiered at Sundance in the Midnight section in 2014.
“The Nightingale” is a Causeway Films and Made Up Stories production with principal production investment from Screen Australia in association with Bron Creative, and financed with support from Screen Tasmania, South Australian Film Corporation, Kojo Productions and the Adelaide Film Festival. FilmNation is handling international sales.
'Hereditary' and 9 Other Indie Horror Films to Watch Next (Photos)
The best scares always come from unexpected places. In the last few years, there have been a spate of indie horror films that have broken into the mainstream. Without the same star power or effects as your typical studio horror film, these scary movies rely on mood, style and character to create a feeling of dread, rather than jump scares. The latest is “Hereditary,” the debut film of Ari Aster that premiered at Sundance and is quickly earning a reputation as one of the scariest movies ever. If after seeing it you have a renewed taste for fright, here are nine other recent horror gems that use their modest scale to their advantage.
A24
“The Witch”
Set in 1630s New England, a family is banished from their village and starts to unravel when their baby vanishes. Starring “Split’s” Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Eggers creates a world devoid of God in this thunderous and bleak religious melodrama.
A24
“Green Room”
Released in the wake of Anton Yelchin’s untimely passing, Jeremy Saulnier’s “Green Room” is a grizzly and intense thriller in which a young punk rock band witnesses a murder and fights off a group of Neo Nazis, led by Patrick Stewart no less. Saulnier expertly contains conflict, depth and gore within small confines.
A24
“It Follows”
“It Follows” takes the horror trope of getting punished for having sex to a new level. This monster slowly stalks you when you sleep with the wrong person, and the only way to pass it on is to bed another partner. It’s a film about guilt that forever haunts you and the fear of being watched. And check out the haunting synth score by Disasterpiece.
RADiUS-TWC
“The Babadook”
The monster at the center of “The Babadook” is a personal demon, not a literal one. Essie Davis is insanely good as a single mother on the brink of a mental breakdown as she attempts to care for her troubled young son. Jennifer Kent’s drama is a psychological heavyweight that examines how parents feed their demons to quell the pain.
IFC Films
“Goodnight Mommy”
This elegant, yet sadistic horror film from Austria resembles Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games,” yet the home invader was under the victims’ noses all along. A mother undergoes reconstructive facial surgery, but her two twin boys don’t recognize the woman beneath her bandages.
RADiUS-TWC
“Under the Skin”
Scarlett Johansson gives the most daring performance of her career in Jonathan Glazer’s surreal, experimental film. Johansson plays something between an android and alien symbiote who seduces men in order to envelop them in a dark, infinite pool of nothingness.
A24
“Only Lovers Left Alive”
Leave it to Jim Jarmusch to make the coolest vampire movie ever. “Only Lovers Left Alive” drips with style, wisdom and ironic humor as Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton play hip, immortal layabouts. The fact they’re vampires might just be an excuse for them to wear sunglasses indoors.
Sony Pictures Classics
“The Invitation”
Karyn Kusama is a rapidly rising female director, and for good reason. Her film “The Invitation" plays on agitation and insecurities between a group of old friends and some suspicious strangers at a lavish dinner party. It would be fascinating for just the unnerving dread of an awkward gathering of friends, but Kusama then provides the film a killer twist.
Drafthouse Films
"It Comes at Night"
The only monsters we ever see in "It Comes at Night" are the ones that live under one roof. Trey Edward Schultz's moody, atmospheric thriller plays on our country's present division and how mistrust in others can come back to harm us.
A24
1 of 10
From “It Follows” to “The Babadook,” these horror gems didn’t have blockbuster budgets
The best scares always come from unexpected places. In the last few years, there have been a spate of indie horror films that have broken into the mainstream. Without the same star power or effects as your typical studio horror film, these scary movies rely on mood, style and character to create a feeling of dread, rather than jump scares. The latest is “Hereditary,” the debut film of Ari Aster that premiered at Sundance and is quickly earning a reputation as one of the scariest movies ever. If after seeing it you have a renewed taste for fright, here are nine other recent horror gems that use their modest scale to their advantage.
A24
A24
