Jane Campion is set to receive a prestigious honor at the Lumiere Festival. The Oscar-winning filmmaker will accept the Prix Lumiere at the Lyon fest in October, Variety confirms.
“Jane Campion had reached the summit (with ‘The Piano’), where she has remained ever since,” said the Lumiere Festival. “Whether it is ‘Portrait of a Lady’ (1996), a Henry James adaptation, starring Nicole Kidman and John Malkovich, the New Age road trip ‘Holy Smoke,’ which revealed Kate Winslet’s art of subtlety, the virtuoso thriller ‘In the Cut,’ a remarkable foray into the genre film with Meg Ryan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Mark Ruffalo, or ‘Bright Star,’ an evocation in the form of a masterpiece on the life of the poet John Keats — all of her films constitute an event, all the more so due to their rarity. In just seven feature films in 20 years, Jane Campion has created a unique filmography and cinema that are at once personal and universal.”
Previous recipients of the award include Jane Fonda and Catherine Deneuve.
Campion is set to unveil her latest feature, “The Power of the Dog,” at this year’s Venice Film Festival, running from September 1-11. Based on Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel of the same name, the drama is set in 1920s Montana and tells the story of wealthy brothers who are joint owners of the biggest ranch in their Montana valley. When one secretly marries a local widow, the other wages a war to destroy her. Kirsten Dunst co-stars in the film.
One of seven women to receive a Best Director nod at the Oscars, Campion was recognized in 1994 for “The Piano.” She won Best Original Screenplay for the Holly Hunter-starrer.
