Jennifer Kent facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jennifer Kent
Kent at Festival Paris Cinéma in July 2014
Born	Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Alma mater	National Institute of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Filmmaker actress
Years active	1992–present

Jennifer Kent is an Australian filmmaker and former actress. She is famous for writing and directing the scary movie The Babadook (2014). Her second film, The Nightingale (2018), was shown at the 75th Venice International Film Festival. It was even nominated for a big award called the Golden Lion.

Early Life and Education

Jennifer Kent was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She started putting on plays when she was only seven years old. She also loved writing stories. When she was a teenager, she chose to become an actress. She has said that she didn't know that women could be film directors back then.

In 1991, she finished her studies at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). She studied Performing Arts, focusing on acting.

Career in Film and TV

Jennifer Kent has worked in many parts of the film and TV world. She started as an actress before becoming a well-known director.

Acting Roles

Kent began her career as an actress. She mostly worked on television shows. She was a main character in the TV series Murder Call. She played Constable Dee Suzeraine in all 31 episodes. She also appeared in other Australian TV shows. These include All Saints and Police Rescue. Kent also had small parts in movies like Babe: Pig in the City. For 13 years, she also taught acting at places like NIDA.

Becoming a Director

After acting for a while, Kent became more interested in making films. She was inspired by the movie Dancer in the Dark. She wrote to its director, Lars von Trier, asking to learn from him. In 2002, von Trier let her work with him. She helped him on the set of his film Dogville (2003).

In 2005, Kent directed her own short film called Monster. This film was shown at over 50 film festivals around the world. These included famous festivals like Telluride and SXSW.

The Babadook: A Scary Story (2014)

In 2014, Jennifer Kent turned her short film Monster into a full-length movie. This movie was called The Babadook. It stars Essie Davis, whom Kent knew from drama school. The film is about a single mother who faces a scary presence in her home. She is also dealing with sadness after her husband's death.

Kent explained that she was interested in how people deal with difficult feelings. She wanted to show that facing sad experiences can be better than trying to hide them. The Babadook was first shown at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. It quickly became popular and was released in the U.S.

Kent worked hard on the script, writing five different versions. She got most of her money from the South Australian Film Corporation. She also used a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for building sets. The Babadook was praised by many critics. It earned $4.9 million worldwide, which was more than double its budget. The script won an award in 2015.

Kent has often spoken about the small number of female directors in horror movies. She believes this will change as the world changes. She points out that many women enjoy watching scary films.

The Nightingale: A Historical Thriller (2018)

Her second film, The Nightingale, came out in 2018. It is a historical movie set in Tasmania in 1825. The story is about murder and revenge. The film also received good reviews from critics.

Future Film Projects

Jennifer Kent has said she will not make a sequel to The Babadook. She believes it is not the kind of film that needs a second part.

She has also worked on other scripts. One of her scripts, Grace, won an award for unproduced scripts. However, Kent later said that the story of Grace was very similar to what she made with The Babadook.

In 2015, it was reported that Kent would write and direct a film based on the book Alice + Freda Forever. This book tells a real-life story from 1892.

Filmmaking Techniques

The Babadook uses a special way to create horror. It mixes psychological drama with scary elements. The film focuses on how a child's imagination can slowly seem to become real. Kent uses horror elements in the way the scenes are set up and how the camera moves.

The movie uses techniques from German Expressionism. This means many scenes can feel confusing and dark. As The Babadook goes on, the old-fashioned house in the film changes. It seems to show the mother's changing feelings.

Kent worked with a team to bring her ideas to life. Radek Ladczuk was the cinematographer, who controls the camera and lighting. Kent was inspired by old movies. She wanted to film The Babadook in black and white at first. She used colors like muted grey and blue, with hints of red, to make the story more suspenseful.

The film is shown from the mother's point of view. The challenges of being a mother are a big part of the story. Many scenes in the film show the everyday struggles that mothers face. These everyday moments are mixed with scary and suspenseful parts. The film ends with the mother learning to control the scary creature. She protects her child and keeps the creature in the basement.

Filmography

Film Roles

Acting Roles in Film

Other Film Credits

Television Roles

Acting Roles in Television

Awards and Recognition

Jennifer Kent has won many awards for her films.

Images for kids

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  A friendly robot

See also

In Spanish: Jennifer Kent para niños