Jane Campion Will Chat Through Her Career with David Stratton at the 2023 Sydney Film Festival 

A year after making history for being just the third woman ever to win the Best Director Oscar, as well as the first woman in to receive two nominations in that very category, Jane Campion is coming to the 2023 Sydney Film Festival to discuss that stunning achievement and her impressive four-decade career. The New Zealand filmmaker will have much to talk about, including the body of work that's also being showcased in the fest's retrospective called Jane Campion — Her Way.

This year's SFF runs from Wednesday, June 7–Sunday, June 18, and it's devoting its spotlight retro programming to the director behind The Piano, The Portrait of a Lady, In the Cut, Bright Star and more — including, of course, the 12-time Academy Award-nominated revisionist western The Power of the Dog. All five films will screen, as will Campion's five-episode debut behind the lens Two Friends, which as made in 1986 for the ABC; the Cannes-premiering 1989 feature Sweetie; 1990's An Angel at My Table, which won the Grand Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival; and 1999's Holy Smoke, complete with an Aussie-accented Kate Winslet (Avatar: The Way of Water).

Kirsty Griffin/Netflix

For the in-conversation part of Jane Campion — Her Way, Campion will chat with David Stratton on Saturday, June 10 following a showing of the new documentary Jane Campion, The Cinema Woman.

The screening part of the lineup will play throughout the fest, and also include Campion-helmed shorts Peel, A Girl's Own Story, Passionless Moments, After Hours and The Water Diary. The lineup is a collaboration with Melbourne's Australian Centre for the Moving Image and Canberra's National Film and Sound Archive, and will also show in both venues. It'll hit ACMI from Thursday, June 15–Sunday, July 2 — coinciding with its current Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion exhibition that celebrates women in film history — and then the NFSA from Thursday, July 20–Sunday, July 30.

"For our 70th edition, we wanted to present a retrospective commensurate with the milestone, reflecting the audacious and boundary pushing filmmaking synonymous with our Festival and region — and there was no one more appropriate than Jane Campion. She is a groundbreaking filmmaker who has made a profound impact on cinema with her daring and unforgettable films," said Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley, announcing the program.

"Campion has broken barriers for women in the industry, winning two Academy Awards and becoming the first woman to receive the Palme d'Or at Cannes. She has changed the landscape of cinema around the world, crafting films now etched in film history. It will be remarkable to see the full suite of her talents in one program, which take us to unexpected and exciting places with every frame and film," said Moodley.

Campion and Jane Campion — Her Way join 2023's SFF lineup alongside 12 other previously announced films, with the full program announced on Wednesday, May 10.

Sydney Film Festival 2023 runs from Wednesday, June 7–Sunday, June 18, including Jane Campion — Her Way, with the filmmaker's in-conversation session with David Stratton taking place on Saturday, June 10.

The film screening series will then hit Melbourne's ACMI from Thursday, June 15–Sunday, July 2, followed by the NFSA in Canberra from Thursday, July 20–Sunday, July 30.

Top image: Kirsty Griffin/Netflix.