Beyond Fest - The Babadook / The Nightingale

THE BABADOOK, 2014, Dir. Jennifer Kent, 94 Mins, IFC Films, Australia

Six years after the violent death of her husband, Amelia (Essie Davis) is at a loss. She struggles to discipline her ‘out of control’ 6 year-old, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), a son she finds impossible to love. Samuel’s dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill them both. When a disturbing storybook called ‘The Babadook’ turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babadook is the creature he’s been dreaming about. His hallucinations spiral out of control, he becomes more unpredictable and violent. Amelia, genuinely frightened by her son’s behaviour, is forced to medicate him. But when Amelia begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her, it slowly dawns on her that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may be real.

FORMAT: DCP

THE NIGHTINGALE, 2018, Dir. Jennifer Kent, 136 Mins, IFC Films, Australia

THE NIGHTINGALE follows Clare (Aisling Franciosi), a 21-year-old Irish convict in 1820s Tasmania, who having served her 7-year sentence, is desperate to be free of her abusive master, Lieutenant Hawkins (Sam Claflin), who refuses to release her from his charge. Clare’s husband Aidan (Michael Sheasby), retaliates and she becomes the victim of a harrowing crime at the hands of the lieutenant and his cronies.

FORMAT: DCP