‘The Nightingale’ director Jennifer Kent responds to controversial audience reactions during film’s

(6 Sep 2018) 'THE NIGHTINGALE' DIRECTOR JENNIFER KENT RESPONDS TO CONTROVERSIAL AUDIENCE REACTIONS DURING FILM'S VENICE PRESS SCREENING
Jennifer Kent, director of "The Nightingale," has responded to two incidents that marred the film's Venice press screening Wednesday evening (5 SEPT. 2018), saying she knew the film would "touch a raw nerve."
At the 7:30 p.m screening, a small but vocal minority of the audience cheered and applauded following a racially motivated attack on one of the film's aboriginal characters.
During the end credits, a man also shouted in Italian an allegedly misogynist slur directed at Kent. Twitter commentators claimed the audience member yelled "wh**e," with Variety film critic Guy Lodge tweeting:
"If Venice could identify the Italian press member who bellowingly called Jennifer Kent a wh**e at last night's screening of THE NIGHTINGALE, and revoke their accreditation going forward, that would be a good start."
Commenting Thursday on the incidents, Kent said:
"It is hard to say because I wasn't there. I think, you know, the film will probably touch a raw nerve and I've accepted that. I think people's reaction says more about them than it does about the film. That's all I can say really."
"The Nightingale" is Kent's second feature, following her critically acclaimed 2014 supernatural horror, "The Babadook."
Set in 1825, it stars Aisling Franciosi as Clare – a young Irish convict who, along with her husband and child, is sent to the British penal colony of Van Diemen's Land (now the Australian state of Tasmania).
There, a sadistic British lieutenant named Hawkins (Sam Claflin) commits a terrible act of violence against Clare's family – an incident set against the wider backdrop of the genocide of the island's indigenous population.
Enlisting the help of an aboriginal tracker named Billy – newcomer Baykali Ganambarr – Clare hunts Hawkins and his band of soldiers through the rugged and dangerous wilderness, stopping at nothing to exact her vengeance.
Much has been made of the fact that "The Nightingale" is the only female-directed film showing in competition at Venice, with all other 20 entrants helmed by men.
While Kent said that "of course we need more gender balance," she added that the focus should be on female stories – not a director's gender.
"I think we also within each individual need a balance of masculine and feminine energy and filmmakers who are telling beautiful female stories, male filmmakers are to be commended," she said. "It's not about male bashing… We need to go gently and to find the balance within ourselves first and foremost."
"The Nightingale" has garnered attention for its unflinching depiction of sexual and racial violence. While shooting, the safety and mental wellbeing of the film's cast and crew was of paramount importance to Kent.
"It's my primary concern to look after the feminine in the story and on set," she said. "We really prepared everyone. I mean we had a clinical psychologist come on board and really work with us to portray a very honest emotional experience for people."
Kent added: "I'd examined other rape scenes and I always found them strangely potentially titillating, often showing women's naked bodies and wide shots really objectifying the woman. But for me, it was really important to stay within her heart and mind. And if you look at those scenes there really just faces, there's nothing explicit at all. So if people are finding that shocking, I think that's a good thing because rape is shocking. Violence towards women, towards anyone is shocking. And I wanted to explore the human cost of violence in this film."

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...