SARAH CONRADT

“Mother’s Instinct”

Conradt’s adaptation of the Belgian film “Mother’s Instinct” wrapped production last summer, and features Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway, with veteran cinematographer Benoît Delhomme slipping into the director’s chair.

“What drew me to this story was the transformation in the relationship between these two women who leaned on each other in every way as best friends,” she says. “And in the flash of a single moment, a single tragedy, everything they’d been to each other is suddenly redefined in much darker terms as they both cope with loss. I find that kind of shift in relationships fascinating.”

Recent efforts include an adaptation of Italian thriller “The Double Hour,” while her script for “Dead of Winter” was recently set up at Netflix. “I work on projects 363 days a year. I’m relentless about taking off Christmas and my birthday, but I’m very dedicated to doing what I love. I write late nights — sometimes all night — but I’m not sure how much longer I can keep that up.”

Conradt’s childhood was rich in the arts and came with a deep appreciation of nature, which led to an eclectic taste in cinema; she cites “Sophie’s Choice” and “Jacob’s Ladder” as inspirational efforts. “It’s always been important to me to leave a story on a note of hope. I love looking into the dark, and going deeper into the tangle of emotional layers, but I think we all need to see that light at the end of the tunnel — maybe now more than ever.”

Reps: Agency: Gersh; Management: Sugar 23; Legal: Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman Influences: T.S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, early Jane Campion — Nick Clement