23 Facts About Jennifer Kent

Jennifer Kent is an Australian director, screenwriter, and former actress.

Jennifer Kent is best known for writing and directing the psychological horror film The Babadook.

Jennifer Kent says that she put on her first play when she was seven and wrote stories.

Jennifer Kent graduated in 1991 from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Performing Arts.

Jennifer Kent was a main cast member of Murder Call, from creator Hal McElroy, playing Constable, Dee Suzeraine, in all 31 episodes of the series.

Jennifer Kent appeared in several episodes of other Australian TV series such as All Saints, Police Rescue and Above the Law.

Jennifer Kent had a small role in Babe: Pig in the City and The New Adventures of Black Beauty.

Jennifer Kent has been an acting teacher for 13 years at major institutions such as NIDA and the Australian Film Television and Radio School.

Jennifer Kent wrote to the director Lars von Trier, asking to study under him and explaining that she found the idea of film school repellent.

In 2006 Jennifer Kent directed an episode of Two Twisted, an Australian series following in the tradition of The Twilight Zone.

In 2005 Jennifer Kent directed her short film Monster, which was screened at over 50 festivals around the world, including Telluride, Montreal World, and Slamdance film festivals, SXSW, and Aspen Shortsfest.

In 2014 she adapted her short into a feature-length film The Babadook starring Essie Davis whom Jennifer Kent had known through drama school.

Jennifer Kent Explains "[she] was always quite fascinated by people who could suppress really dark, deep, painful experiences and [she] wanted to explore the idea that perhaps pushing down on those terrible experiences is harder than facing them".

Jennifer Kent did five drafts of the feature script, received most of her funding from the South Australian Film Corporation, then conducted a Kickstarter campaign to help raise US$30,000 to pay for set construction.

Jennifer Kent has been vocal in the press about the lack of female directors in horror cinema.

Jennifer Kent's first feature-length film, The Babadook, is a supernatural horror film written and directed by Kent.

In late 2014, Jennifer 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.

Jennifer Kent wrote the book in collaboration with illustrator Alex Juhasz, who had created the prop book used in the film.

In June 2015, it was reported that the nonfiction book Alice + Freda Forever was being adapted into a film that Jennifer Kent would write and direct.

Jennifer Kent uses different approaches to the horror genre from classic horror film directors.

Jennifer Kent brought together a team of people she felt could bring her idea to the screen.

Jennifer Kent was influenced by old movies, and initially wanted to film the movie in black and white.

Jennifer Kent used many different techniques to embody a terrifying set, using colours like "muted grey-and-blue and hints of red as the story became more suspenseful".