Jane Campion’s Western wins Best Picture
Two weeks before the Oscars, the dark western “The Power of the Dog” continued its triumphant march at this year’s award ceremonies: the film by New Zealander Jane Campion was voted best film by the Association of US Directors. In her acceptance speech on Saturday, she was pleased that women are increasingly breaking through the “glass ceiling” in the film business. “We’ve come this far. And more importantly, we’ll never back down.”
Campion is only the third woman to win the Directors Guild of America (DGA) top award, following Kathryn Bigelow in 2008 and Chloé Zhao last year. The New Zealander, who achieved world fame almost 30 years ago with “The Piano”, recalled on stage that she was “the only woman in the room for a long time”. “I remember that outsider feeling.” It was very difficult to bring previously unnoticed perspectives into the male-dominated film business. “I’m here because it’s important to me that women also have a voice.”
The importance of Campion was also highlighted by Maggie Gyllenhaal, who won the Best Newcomer Director category for her film The Lost Daughter. Seeing “The Piano” in the cinema as a child “changed her life” and made her want to direct one day. “I think it’s one of the real reasons that I’m standing here and being brave enough to say what I want,” added Gyllenhaal, who is best known for starring in The Dark Knight.
The DGA awards are considered one of the most important clues for the Oscars. These will be awarded on March 27th in Los Angeles. “The Power of the Dog” goes into the race for the most coveted film awards in the world with the most nominations. Among other things, Campion is the first woman in history to be nominated for a director’s Oscar for a second time. She received her first nomination 28 years ago for “Das Piano”.