10 Directors Who Were PISSED OFF At Film Premieres
4. Jennifer Kent Defended Herself Against Vocal Critics - The Nightingale
The initial response to Jennifer Kent's first two films couldn't be more opposed: her debut The Babadook was met with five-star rave reviews out of its Sundance premiere, and it went on to become one of the most acclaimed horror films of the last decade.
Her follow-up, 2018's searing period thriller The Nightingale, received far more divisive notices at its Venice Film Festival premiere, to the extent that one critic even screamed that Kent was a "shameful whore" when her name appeared in the credits at the end of the film. He later had his press credentials revoked by the festival.
The premiere was overshadowed by not only this incident but Kent having to continually defend the film's extreme depictions of sexual violence - which resulted in walkouts and heckling - exacerbated by the fact that she was the only woman director in competition at Venice.
The premiere had quite the impact on Kent herself, who later commented, "It was awful...My gender overtook my film. It still mystifies me."
Kent may have had the last laugh, though, as The Nightingale ended up with a strong 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, and is slowly carving out a rep for itself as an underappreciated cult classic.