Bron boards 'The Babadook' follow-up 'The Nightingale'

Aaron L. Gilbert’s Vancouver and Los Angeles-based company has boarded its latest high profile project and will co-finance and serve as executive producer on The Nightingale.

Jennifer Kent (pictured) wrote and will direct the follow-up to her critically-lauded The Babadook with production scheduled to begin this month in Tasmania.

Set in Tasmania in 1825, the story centres on a young Irish convict who enlists the help of an Aboriginal tracker and heads into the wilderness to avenge the death of her husband and baby at the hands of a soldier and his cronies.

Aisling Franciosi and Sam Claflin star along with Damon Herriman, Ewen Leslie, Harry Greenwood, Aboriginal Djuki Mala dancer Baykali Ganambarr, and East Arnhem Land indigenous model Magnolia Maymuru.

In its first production, Made Up Stories will produce with Kent’s Causeway Films and is also co-financing, with major production investment from Screen Australia and in association with Screen Tasmania and the South Australian Film Corporation.

Serving as producers are Kristina Ceyton and Made Up Stories founder Bruna Papandrea, who served as executive producer on HBO’s Big Little Lies with her Pacific Standard partner and mini-series star Reese Witherspoon.

Gilbert, Andy Pollack, Jason Cloth and Brenda Gilbert will serve as executive producers for Bron alongside Ben Browning and Alison Cohen of FilmNation and Steve Hutensky of Made Up Stories. Jeanne Snow will oversee for Made Up Stories.

FilmNation handles international sales and Transmission Films will distribute in Australia and New Zealand. WME Global represents North American rights.

Bron Creative is a joint venture of the Bron and Creative Wealth Media groups. The two groups have collaborated on more than 20 productions including recent Oscar nominee Fences, The Birth Of A Nation, Tully, and I Saw The Light.

Causeway Films is in post-production on the film Cargo starring Martin Freeman that is scheduled for release later this year.