The Nightingale (2018 film)

The Nightingale is a 2018 Australian historical psychological thriller film written and directed by Jennifer Kent. The film stars Aisling Franciosi, Sam Claflin, Baykali Ganambarr, Damon Herriman, Harry Greenwood, Ewen Leslie, Charlie Shotwell, Michael Sheasby, and Magnolia Maymuru. Set in 1825 in Van Diemen's Land, it follows a young Irish convict (Franciosi) seeking vengeance against members of the Colonial forces of Tasmania who gang-raped her and killed both her husband and infant daughter. She is aided by an Aboriginal Tasmanian tracker (Ganambarr), who seeks vengeance for the British occupiers' Black War against his people.

The Nightingale premiered at the 75th Venice International Film Festival on 6 September 2018, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion and won the Special Jury Prize, while Ganambarr won the Marcello Mastroianni Award. The film was theatrically released in Australia on 29 August 2019 and was a box office failure, grossing only $988,687 against its $2 million production budget. Despite generating controversy for its graphic portrayal of rape and murder, it received critical acclaim, with particular praise for Kent's direction, the performances of the cast, and acknowledgement of racial violence in Australia. It is the first film to include palawa kani, a reconstructed form of the once extinct Tasmanian languages.

The Nightingale received a leading 15 nominations at the 9th AACTA Awards, winning 6, including Best Film, Best Direction and Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted for Kent, Best Actress for Franciosi, and Best Supporting Actress for Maymuru.