Annual Top Films Lists

Through the Looking-Glass…Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2016: #2. Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale

Published on January 16, 2015

The Nightingale

Director: Jennifer Kent // Writer: Jennifer Kent

As she basks in the positive fall out of her incredibly well received directorial debut, The Babadook, we’re sure director Jennifer Kent will have her pick of the litter as far as upcoming projects are concerned (and a sequel will definitely not be in the works, thankfully). In recent interviews, she has claimed to be working on two new projects, both supported for development in Australia. The more clearly defined of the two is The Nightingale, which has been described a revenge tale “about the futility of revenge,” a period piece examining the denial of a particular period in Australian/British history. While details are vague, it’s supposedly set in 1829 and concerns a young convict woman seeking revenge for the murder of her family while taking a mixed race male outcast along for the ride. It’s a thrilling sounding project reminiscent of, perhaps, William Faulkner, and we’re hoping this is next in development from Kent.

Cast: None announced.

Producers: None announced.

U.S. Distributor: Rights available.

Release Date: The project is currently in development. It will depend on funding and whether or not Kent focuses on this project next.

Nicholas Bell

Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2021: France (Bruno Dumont), Passing (Rebecca Hall) and Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.