Busy Australian production company Aquarius Films has partnered with Irish production company Port Pictures to produce the feature film, “The Good People.” The film is based on the award-winning novel by Hannah Kent, who also wrote the adapted screenplay.
“The Good People” is set in 19th century Ireland at a time when the Catholic church was waging war against pagan beliefs. It sees three women conspire to free a young boy from evil spirits.
“The Good People” is an examination of absolute belief and superstition. It depicts a series of actions that are both tender and harsh and raises questions about belonging, understanding and acceptance.
The film is to be produced by Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford of Aquarius Films, and Martina Niland of Port Pictures. The film will be executive produced by Aquarius Films’ Miranda Culley. The film has received development funding from Screen Australia.
Neither a director nor start date have yet been confirmed.
The Good People book cover.
© Pan Macmillan Australia,
The second novel by Kent, “The Good People” was published in 2016 by Pan Macmillan in Australia, and in 2017 by Picador in the U.K. and by Little, Brown and Company in North America. It has been translated into 10 languages and was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Award for Historical Fiction.
Kent’s first novel, “Burial Rites,” is currently being prepared for the screen by Sony TriStar. She also wrote the original screenplay for the feature film “Run Rabbit Run,” which is directed by Daina Reid, features “Succession” star Sarah Snook and will be released later this year.
“What’s not to love about Hannah Kent’s brilliant novel? A dark tale about three complex women, fairies, witches and changelings. All set against the eerie backdrop of 1800s Ireland,” said Fielder and Staniford.
Fielder is an Academy Award-nominated producer known for “Lion,” starring Nicole Kidman, Dev Patel and Rooney Mara. Staniford produced Vertical Entertainment’s “Berlin Syndrome,” directed by Cate Shortland.
Aquarius, which recently wrapped production on “Savage River,” a crime drama series by Jocelyn Moorhouse, for the Australian Broadcasting Corp., has a production and development slate that also includes feature film project “Paradise,” based on Abdul Karim Hekmat’s “True Love in Nauru”; “Most Admired Woman”; sci-fi thriller “The Subjugate”; and co-production with Rose Byrne’s Dollhouse Pictures for the psychological thriller series “The Geography of Friendship,” for Staniford and Lionsgate.
Niland is best-known for Oscar-winning film “Once,” and Golden Globe-nominated “Sing Street,” both by writer-director John Carney. She was recently co-producer on episodes of Amazon Studios’ anthology series “Modern Love,” Season 2, and in 2021 produced “Holding,” a drama series for ITV Studios directed by Kathy Burke and based on the Graham Norton best-selling novel.