Jane Campion: Her Way

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 in 2022, 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 at the Art Gallery of NSW at the 2023 Sydney Film Festival. The fest's retrospective for this year is Jane Campion: Her Way, a lineup that will step through the New Zealand director and screenwriter's career, and also feature Campion in-conversation with David Stratton.

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 Campion's short films Peel, A Girl's Own Story, Passionless Moments, After Hours and The Water Diary.

SFF runs from Wednesday, June 7–Sunday, June 18, with Campion chatting with Stratton on Saturday, June 10 following a showing of the new documentary Jane Campion, The Cinema Woman.

Top image: Kirsty Griffin/Netflix.