Jennifer Kent

Kent began her career as an actress, working primarily in television. She was a main cast member of Murder Call, from creator Hal McElroy, playing Constable Dee Suzeraine in all 31 episodes of the series. She also appeared in several episodes of other Australian TV series such as All Saints, Police Rescue and Above the Law. Kent also had a small role in Babe: Pig in the City. She has also been an acting teacher for 13 years at major institutions such as NIDA and the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS).[4]

After losing interest in acting, Kent was inspired after seeing Dancer in the Dark to pursue a career as a filmmaker. She wrote to director Lars von Trier, asking to study under him and explaining that she found the idea of film school repellent.[5] In 2002 von Trier allowed her to assist him as part of a directing attachment on the set of his film Dogville starring Nicole Kidman.[6] In 2006 Kent directed an episode of Two Twisted, an Australian series following in the tradition of The Twilight Zone.[4]

In 2005 Kent directed her short film Monster, which was screened at over 50 festivals around the world.[4] In 2014 she adapted her short into a feature-length film The Babadook starring Essie Davis whom Kent had known through drama school.[7] The film tells the story of a single mother played by Davis who must confront a sinister presence in her home while dealing with the death of her husband. The Babadook premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in the prestigious Midnight section.[8] The film was quickly picked up for distribution in the U.S. by IFC Films. Kent did five drafts of the feature script, received most of her funding from the Australian government, then conducted a Kickstarter campaign to help raise US$30,000 to pay for set construction.[2][9] The Babadook received widespread critical acclaim, with The Exorcist director William Friedkin tweeting that he'd never seen a more terrifying film, and doubled its budget with $4.9 million in worldwide box office.[10][11] The Babadook script won the Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting at the 2015 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.[12]

Kent has been vocal in the press about the lack of female directors in horror cinema.[13] "It will shift, as the world shifts. Women do love watching scary films. It’s been proven, and they’ve done all the tests. The demographics are half men, half women. And we know fear. It’s not like we can’t explore the subject."[13]

Kent met with executives at Warner Bros. in late 2014 to talk about possibly directing the Wonder Woman film, a job which eventually went to Patty Jenkins.[14]

Kent's first feature-length film The Babadook (2014) was a success at the Sundance Film Festival.[15] The Babadook brings up everyday issues that many women face, like the journey of motherhood, and raising a child as a widow.[15] Kent said "Now, it’s not just female filmmakers making romantic comedies, but there are female filmmakers across the board. It’s no longer a realm for women that’s impossible."[1]

In late 2014, Kent announced that, due to popular demand, a limited edition of the Mister Babadook pop-up book featured in her film The Babadook would be published in 2015. The book was written by Kent in collaboration with illustrator Alex Juhasz, who had created the prop book used in her film. The book sold out its run of 6,200 copies.[6]

Her second film, The Nightingale, deals with murder and revenge in 1825 Tasmania.[16] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film garnered an approval rating of 86%, based on 234 reviews.[17]

When asked whether she would be doing a sequel to The Babadook, Kent said that she "will never allow any sequel to be made, because it's not that kind of film. I don't care how much I'm offered, it's just not going to happen."[18]

Kent has at least two feature films currently in various states of development. One of her scripts, Grace, won the Prix Du Scenario for unproduced scripts at the Cinema Des Antipodes festival,[6] which presents films from Australia and New Zealand, but Kent said in October 2014, "The story of Grace was very much what I ended up making with The Babadook."[19] Kent said a project, a "surreal drama" about death and letting go set in Australia, has some funding for development.[19] Kent told The Guardian in May 2014 that HBO was courting her for a TV series.[1]

In June 2015, it is reported that non-fiction book Alice + Freda Forever is being adapted into a film which Kent will write and direct. The book tells the real-life story of Alice Mitchell and her lover Freda Ward whom she killed in 1892.[20] The film's producer Sarah Schechter stated that she is "thrilled Kent shares the same passion for telling this powerful, intense and unfortunately still timely story"[21]

The Babadook is presented from the mother's perspective. The struggle of motherhood is a major component of the story in this film. According to Clarke, many scenes in the film are relatable because they show everyday struggles for mothers. Clarke argues that Kent touches on not only parenting, but dealing with gossipy friends and sexuality, shown in a scene where the mother is masturbating. These everyday themes are interspersed with moments of terror and suspense; techniques of classic horror. The film ends with the female lead taming the beast by defending her child, and keeping it in the basement,[23] furthering the theme of motherhood in this horror film. She takes on a role of a mother to the monster, shown when she collects worms with her son and brings it to the basement to feed him. Kent's ending is very unorthodox for the horror film genre.