Jane Campion has won the Oscar for best director for Netflix’s The Power of the Dog.
Campion, a previous Oscar winner 28 years ago for writing the original screenplay for The Piano (for which she was also nominated for best director), is the first woman to be nominated for best director twice and the second woman in a row (following last year’s winner, Chloé Zhao for Nomadland) to win in the category.
Campion is also the third woman in history to win best director, following Zhao and The Hurt Locker’s Kathryn Bigelow.
“I love directing because it’s a deep dive into story,” Campion said upon winning her Oscar. “Yet the task of manifesting a world can be overwhelming. The sweet thing is I’m not alone. On The Power of the Dog, I worked with the actors who I grew to call my friends — they met the challenge of the story with the depth of their gifts: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jesse Plemons — and my whole crew, who are true hearts.”
Campion’s win is the latest in a months-long streak, as she won directing prizes at the BAFTA Awards, DGA Awards, Golden Globes, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle Awards and the Venice Film Festival. She was also nominated tonight for best adapted screenplay (which went to CODA writer-director Sian Heder).
