The Power and Passion of Jane Campion

Overview

Only one female filmmaker has ever been nominated for the Best Director Oscar twice. That woman: Jane Campion. The New Zealand talent won the coveted prize this year, for the phenomenal The Power of the Dog — and, while her exquisite revisionist western was the absolute best movie of 2021, it's not the only highlight on her resume.

Campion's filmography is packed with must-sees, and see them you must — on the big screen, across one glorious month, all at the Gallery of Modern Art's Australian Cinémathèque. The venue is dedicating every Friday and Saturday in July to her films, as part of a season it's calling The Power and Passion of Jane Campion. Tickets cost $7 for members and $10 otherwise.

Kirsty Griffin/Netflix

On the bill: The Power of the Dog, because watching it via streaming is nowhere near the best way to revel in its wonders; The Piano, the 1993 Oscar-winner that nabbed Campion her first Best Director nomination; In the Cut, a tremendous erotic thriller starring Meg Ryan; and Holy Smoke, with Kate Winslet starring opposite Harvey Keitel.

There's also everything from 1986's Two Friends, 1989's Sweetie and 1990's An Angel at My Table through to 1996's Nicole Kidman-starring The Portrait of a Lady, 2009's Bright Star about poet John Keats and his romance with Fanny Brawne, and a selection of Campion's short films.

Top image: Kirsty Griffin/Netflix.