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Jane Campion

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Dame
Jane Campion
DNZM
Campion in 2016
Born
Elizabeth Jane Campion

(1954-04-30) 30 April 1954 (age 70)
Wellington, New Zealand
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • producer
  • director
Known for
Spouse
Colin David Englert
​
​
(m. 1992; div. 2001)​
Children2, including Alice Englert
Parents
Signature

Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion DNZM (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker.[1] She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films The Piano (1993) and The Power of the Dog (2021), for which she has received two Academy Awards (including Best Director for the latter), two BAFTA Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Campion was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM) in the 2016 New Year Honours, for services to film.

Campion is a groundbreaking female director, as of 2022 the only woman to be nominated twice for Academy Award for Best Director (winning once), and the first female filmmaker to receive the Palme d'Or (for The Piano, which also won her the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay).[2] She made history at the 94th Academy Awards when she won Best Director for The Power of the Dog (2021), as the oldest female director to win and the first woman to win Academy Awards for both directing and screenwriting in her different films. She broke the same barrier at the 78th Venice International Film Festival when she won the Silver Lion award. She is the third woman to win the Directors Guild of America Award for Feature Film.

Campion is also known for directing the films An Angel at My Table (1990), The Portrait of a Lady (1996), Holy Smoke! (1998), and Bright Star (2009). She also co-created the television series Top of the Lake (2013) and received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Early life

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Campion was born in Wellington, New Zealand, the second daughter of Edith Campion (born Beverley Georgette Hannah), an actress, writer, and heiress; and Richard M. Campion, a teacher, and theatre and opera director.[3][4][5] Her maternal great-grandfather was Robert Hannah, a well-known shoe manufacturer for whom Antrim House was built. Her father came from a family that belonged to the fundamentalist Christian Exclusive Brethren sect.[6] She attended Queen Margaret College and Wellington Girls' College.[7] Along with her sister, Anna, a year and a half her senior, and brother, Michael, seven years her junior, Campion grew up in the world of New Zealand theatre.[4] Their parents founded the New Zealand Players.[8] Campion initially rejected the idea of a career in the dramatic arts and graduated instead with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Victoria University of Wellington in 1975.[4]

In 1976, she enrolled in the Chelsea Art School in London and travelled throughout Europe. She earned a graduate diploma in visual arts (painting) from the Sydney College of the Arts at the University of Sydney in 1981. Campion's later film work was shaped in part by her art school education; she has, even in her mature career, cited painter Frida Kahlo and sculptor Joseph Beuys as influences.[4]

Campion's dissatisfaction with the limitations of painting[4] led her to filmmaking and the creation of her first short, Tissues, in 1980. In 1981, she began studying at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, where she made several more short films and graduated in 1984.[9]

Career

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1982–1989

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Jane Campion at the 47th Venice International Film Festival in 1990

Campion's first short film, Peel (1982), won the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival,[10] and other awards followed for the shorts Passionless Moments (1983), A Girl's Own Story (1984), and After Hours (1984). After leaving the Australian Film and Television School, she directed an episode for ABC's light entertainment series Dancing Daze (1986), which led to her first TV film, Two Friends (1986), produced by Jan Chapman.[11] Her feature debut, Sweetie (1989), won international awards.

1990–2006

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Further recognition came with An Angel at My Table (1990), a biopic about the life of New Zealand writer Janet Frame, from a screenplay written by Laura Jones. Widespread recognition followed with The Piano (1993), which won the Palme d'Or at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival,[12] Best Director from the Australian Film Institute, and an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1994. At the 66th Academy Awards, Campion was the second woman ever to be nominated for Best Director for her movie The Piano.[13]

Campion's 1996 film The Portrait of a Lady, based on the Henry James novel, featured Nicole Kidman, John Malkovich, Barbara Hershey and Martin Donovan. Holy Smoke! (1999) saw Campion teamed with Harvey Keitel for a second time (the first being The Piano), this time with Kate Winslet as the female lead. In the Cut (2003), an erotic thriller based on Susanna Moore's bestseller, provided Meg Ryan an opportunity to depart from her more familiar onscreen persona. In 2006 she produced Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story.

2009–present

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Her 2009 film Bright Star, a biographical drama about poet John Keats (played by Ben Whishaw) and his lover Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish), was shown at the Cannes Film Festival.[citation needed] In an interview with Jan Lisa Huttner, Campion discussed how she focused on Fanny's side of the story, pointing out that only two of the film's scenes did not feature her.[14] Campion created, wrote, and directed the TV mini-series Top of the Lake,[15] which received near universal acclaim,[16][17] won numerous awards—including, for its lead actress Elisabeth Moss, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film and a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries—and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.[18] Campion was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special.[19]

Jane Campion in 2014

She was the head of the jury for the Cinéfondation and Short Film sections at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival[20] and the head of the jury for the main competition section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.[21] When Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan received the Prix du Jury for his film Mommy, he said that Campion's The Piano "made me want to write roles for women—beautiful women with soul, will and strength, not victims or objects." Campion responded by rising from her seat to give him a hug.[22][23] In 2014, it was announced that Campion was nearing a deal to direct an adaptation of Rachel Kushner's novel The Flamethrowers.[24][25]

In 2015, Campion confirmed that she would co-direct and co-write a second season of Top of the Lake with the story moved to Sydney and Harbour City, Hong Kong, and with Elisabeth Moss reprising her role as Robin Griffin.[26] The sequel series titled Top of the Lake: China Girl was released in 2017. Shot and set in Sydney, Top of the Lake: China Girl features Alice Englert, Campion's daughter, in a lead role as Robin's biological daughter. The series also features Ewen Leslie, David Dencik and Nicole Kidman.

In 2019, Campion's first film in a decade was announced, an adaptation of Thomas Savage's novel The Power of the Dog. The film was written and directed by her and was released in 2021,[27] having premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, where Campion was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Direction.[28] The film was critically acclaimed internationally, winning numerous awards and nominations for the direction, screenplay, and performance of the cast of actors.[29] Campion earned three nominations in the respective categories for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Picture at the Golden Globe Awards, AACTA International Awards, Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and Satellite Awards. Campion issued an apology to Serena and Venus Williams following criticism of her acceptance speech for Critics Choice for Best Director, in which Campion said, "And you know, Serena and Venus, you are such marvels. However, you do not play against the guys — like I have to." Her apology included, "I made a thoughtless comment equating what I do in the film world with all that Serena Williams and Venus Williams have achieved," she said. "I did not intend to devalue these two legendary Black women and world-class athletes."[30] In February 2022, the film received 12 nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, leading that year's Oscar nominations.[31] The film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst, and Best Supporting Actor for both Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons.[32] Campion became the first woman to receive multiple Best Director nominations, and she won Best Director for the film.[33] She is also the first woman to win Best Director without also winning a corresponding Best Picture.

Personal life

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In 1992, Campion married Colin David Englert, an Australian who worked as a second unit director on The Piano.[34] Their first child, Jasper, was born in 1993 but lived for only 12 days.[35] Their second child, Alice Englert, was born in 1994; she is an actress. The couple divorced in 2001.[36]

Reception

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Her work, according to the critic bell hooks, "seduces and excites audiences with its uncritical portrayal of sexism and misogyny. Reviewers and audiences alike seem to assume that Campion's gender, as well as her breaking of traditional boundaries that inhibit the advancement of women in film, indicate that her work expresses a feminist standpoint."[37] Accordingly, Campion's work has received praise from other critics. In V.W. Wexman's Jane Campion: Interviews (1999), critic David Thomson describes Campion "as one of the best young directors in the world today."[38] In Sue Gillett's "More Than Meets The Eye: The Mediation of Affects in Jane Campion's Sweetie", Campion's work is described as "perhaps the fullest and truest way of being faithful to the reality of experience"; by utilising the "unsayable" and "unseeable", she manages to catalyze audience speculation.[39] Campion's films tend to gravitate around themes of gender politics, such as seduction and female sexual power. This has led some to label Campion's body of work as feminist; however, Rebecca Flint Marx argues that "while not inaccurate, [the feminist label] fails to fully capture the dilemmas of her characters and the depth of her work."[40]

Honours and accolades

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Jane Campion receiving the Grand Jury Prize from Anjelica Huston at the 47th Venice International Film Festival
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Jane Campion

Campion was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM) in the 2016 New Year Honours, for services to film.[41][42]

Filmography

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Feature films

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Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
1986 Two Friends Yes No No Television film
1989 Sweetie Yes Yes No
1990 An Angel at My Table Yes No No
1993 The Piano Yes Yes No
1996 The Portrait of a Lady Yes No No
1999 Holy Smoke! Yes Yes No
2003 In the Cut Yes Yes No
2006 Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story No No Yes Documentary
2009 Bright Star Yes Yes Yes
2021 The Power of the Dog Yes Yes Yes

Short films

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Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
1980 Tissues Yes Yes No
1981 Mishaps of Seduction and Conquest Yes Yes No
1982 Peel: An Exercise in Discipline Yes Yes No
1983 Passionless Moments Yes Yes Yes
1984 A Girl's Own Story Yes Yes No
After Hours Yes Yes No
2006 The Water Diary Yes Yes No Segment of 8
2007 The Lady Bug Yes Yes No Segment of To Each His Own Cinema
2012 I'm the One No No Yes
2016 Family Happiness No No Yes

Television

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Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2013 Top of the Lake Yes Yes Yes Miniseries; co-directed with Garth Davis
2017 Top of the Lake: China Girl Yes Yes Yes Miniseries; co-directed with Ariel Kleiman

Recurring collaborators

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Work
Actor
 1986 1989 1990 1993 1996 1999 1999 2003 2009 2013 2017 2021
Two Friends (TV)
Roger Ashton-Griffiths Yes Yes
Kerry Fox Yes Yes
Paul Goddard Yes Yes
Holly Hunter Yes Yes
Harvey Keitel Yes Yes
Nicole Kidman Yes Yes Yes
Genevieve Lemon Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Elisabeth Moss Yes Yes
Kerry Walker Yes Yes

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Fox, Alistair (2011). Jane Campion: Authorship and Personal Cinema. Indiana University Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0253223012. Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  2. ^ "'Piano's' Jane Campion Is First Female Director to Win; 'Concubine's' Chen Kaige Has First Chinese-Film Victory: 'Piano', 'Concubine', Share the Palme D'Or", Los Angeles Times, 25 May 1993; retrieved 6 May 2012.
  3. ^ Fox (2011). Jane Campion profile. Indiana University Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0253223012. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e McHugh, Kathleen (2007). Contemporary Film Directors: Jane Campion. United States of America: University of Illinois, Urbana. ISBN 978-0-252-03204-2.
  5. ^ Canby, Vincent (30 May 1993). "FILM VIEW; Jane Campion Stirs Romance With Mystery". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  6. ^ Fox (2011). Jane Campion profile. Indiana University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0253223012. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  7. ^ Duff, Michelle (12 November 2022). "Dame Jane Campion has always been fearless". Stuff. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  8. ^ Fox (2009). Jane Campion profile. Wayne State University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0814334324. Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  9. ^ Mark Stiles, "Jane Campion", Cinema Papers, December 1985, pp. 434–435, 471
  10. ^ "Awards 1986 : Competition – Festival de Cannes 2015 (International Film Festival)". Festival-cannes.fr. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  11. ^ Audrey Foster, Gwendolyn (September 2017). "Girlhood in Reverse – Jane Campion's 2 Friends (1986)". Senses of Cinema. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Piano". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  13. ^ Gonzalez, Sandra (8 February 2022). "Jane Campion scores her second best director Oscar nomination, making history". CNN. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  14. ^ Huttner, Jan Lisa. "Chats – Jane Campion". Films42.com. Films For Two. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  15. ^ Guthrie, Marisa (4 November 2011). "Jane Campion to Write, Direct Sundance Channel Miniseries Starring Elisabeth Moss". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  16. ^ "Top of the Lake". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  17. ^ "Top Of The Lake – Season 1 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Top of the Lake (2013– ) : Awards". IMDb. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  19. ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Emmys.com. 13 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  20. ^ "A Palme d'or for the Cinéfondation!". festival-cannes.fr. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  21. ^ "Jane Campion to preside over Cannes Film Festival jury". BBC News. 7 January 2014. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  22. ^ "Bear hugs at Cannes as Mommy wins jury prize". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  23. ^ "Xavier Dolan and Jane Campion". 26 July 2014. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. ^ Gibson, Megan (13 May 2014). "Jane Campion in talks to direct the big-screen adaptation of "The Flamethrowers"". Time. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  25. ^ Khatchatourian, Maane (13 May 2014). "Jane Campion Near Deal to Direct Adaptation of 'The Flamethrowers'". Variety. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  26. ^ Shechet, Ellie (23 June 2015). "Season 2 of Top of the Lake Will Take Place in Sydney and Hong Kong". Jezebel. Archived from the original on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  27. ^ Kroll, Justin (6 May 2019). "Benedict Cumberbatch, Elisabeth Moss to Star in Jane Campion's New Film". Variety. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  28. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (11 September 2021). "Venice Film Festival Awards: Golden Lion Goes to Audrey Diwan's 'Happening' (Full List)". Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  29. ^ The Power of the Dog, archived from the original on 3 December 2021, retrieved 1 January 2022
  30. ^ "Jane Campion Apologizes for Comment About Venus and Serena Williams". The New York Times. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  31. ^ Andrew Limbong (8 February 2022). "'The Power of the Dog' and 'Dune' lead the pack in Oscar nominations: Full list". NPR. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  32. ^ Shoard, Catherine (8 February 2022). "Oscar nominations 2022: The Power of the Dog leads the pack". The Guardian News. p. 1. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  33. ^ Sharf, Zack (8 February 2022). "Jane Campion Makes Oscars History as First Woman With Two Best Director Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  34. ^ "ENGLERT, COLIN DAVID Australia". Business Profiles. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  35. ^ Franke, Lizzie (1999). "Jane Campion Is Called the Best Female Director in the World. What's Female Got to Do with It?". In Wexman, Virginia Wright (ed.). Jane Campion: Interview. University Press of Mississippi. p. 207. ISBN 978-1578060832. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  36. ^ Sampson, Des (24 January 2013). "Alice Englert stars in Twilight successor". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  37. ^ "Sexism and Misogyny: Who Takes the Rap? Misogyny, gangsta rap, and The Piano • Senses of Cinema" (PDF). Sensesofcinema.com. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  38. ^ V. W. Wexman. Jane Campion: Interviews. Roundhouse Publishing. 1999. ISBN 1-57806-083-4.
  39. ^ "More than Meets the Eye: The Mediation of Affects in Jane Campion's Sweetie • Senses of Cinema". Sensesofcinema.com. 21 March 2003. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  40. ^ "Jane Campion – Biography – Movies & TV". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 30 April 1954. Retrieved 30 December 2015.[dead link‍]
  41. ^ “New Year Honours 2016” Archived 6 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine (15 Jan 2016) 2 New Zealand Gazette 1 at 3.
  42. ^ "Richie McCaw surpasses knighthood, appointed NZ's top honour". TVNZ. 30 December 2015. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Cheshire, Ellen: Jane Campion. London: Pocket Essentials, 2000.
  • Fox, Alistair: Jane Campion: Authorship and Personal Cinema. Bloomington–Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-253-22301-2.
  • Gillett, Sue: 'Views for Beyond the Mirror: The Films of Jane Campion.' St.Kilda: ATOM, 2004. ISBN 1 876467 14 2
  • Hester, Elizabeth J.: Jane Campion: A Selective Annotated Bibliography of Dissertations and Theses. ISBN 978-1484818381, ISBN 1484818385.
  • Jones, Gail: 'The Piano.' Australian Screen Classics, Currency Press, 2007.
  • Margolis, Harriet (ed): 'Jane Campion's The Piano.' Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  • McHugh, Kathleen: 'Jane Campion.'Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2007.
  • Radner, Hilary, Alistair Fox and Irène Bessière (eds): 'Jane Campion: Cinema, Nation, Identity.'Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2009.
  • Verhoeven, Deb: Jane Campion. London: Routledge, 2009.
  • Wexman V.W.: Jane Campion: Interviews. Roundhouse Publishing. 1999.
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