After having paid tribute to several great Australian and New Zealand directors and producers, such as Fred Schepisi, Gillian Armstrong, Vincent Ward, Peter Weir and Patricia Lovell, we wanted to honour one of New Zealand's most talented and inventive film makers, a film maker who has made her mark on cinema worldwide, notably but not only through her short films. Just as with Stanley Kubrick, each of her films is an event in itself.

Jane Campion was born in Wellington, New Zealand. Graduating with a degree in Anthropology in 1975 and with a painting major in 1979 from the Sydney College of the Arts, Campion also maintained her interest in theatre. Finally she moved towards film and directing through studies at the AFTRS in Sydney, Australia. She began directing short films in the early 1980s. In 1986 her first short film, Peel, won the Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1989, she made her first feature film, Sweetie. Presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, ‘Sweetie’ gave rise to considerable controversy.

It was her second film, An Angel at my Table (winner of the special Jury prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1990) a study of the tragic life of New Zealand writer Janet Frame, that cemented her reputation. In 1992, Campion continued to pursue her marginal female characters in The Piano. With this film, she became the first female director to win the Palm d'Or at Cannes. Over thirty international awards, including the Cesar for Best Foreign Film in 1994, completes the long list of awards for this film that brought recognition for actress Holly Hunter.

In 1996, she produced an adaptation of Henry James classic work, The Portrait of a Lady with Nicole Kidman in the leading role. After a three-year break from film, she returned in 1999 to make the philosophical road movie, Holy Smoke. In her latest film, In the Cut, produced by Laurie Parker and Nicole Kidman, she draws an unexpected performance from Meg Ryan.