Luminary Award Bestowed Upon Jane Campion

New Zealander Jane Campion has been honoured with Next Generation Indie Film’s 2023 Luminary Award. The director accepted the award at the third annual gala, which took place at the end of October in Los Angeles, Variety reports.

Next Generation Indie Film Awards is a non-profit organisation that aims to assist filmmakers at any stage of the filmmaking process. It bestows the Luminary Award on a “transformative figure in the industry, an artist whose work and journey are a North Star to the filmmaking community, especially at a time when art and inspiration are much-needed.” American Rian Johnson was the inaugural recipient of the Luminary Award in 2022.

Campion’s most recent film, 2021’s The Power of the Dog, was regarded as one of the best of the year and received 12 Oscar nominations. Campion won the Academy Award for best director, one of three women to ever take home the trophy in 95 years.

On the night of the 2022 Oscars, Campion spoke about her desire to see better recognition for women directors. “I’m very proud to have won tonight – for my film and for my cast,” she said. “But also just to be another woman who’s going to be followed by a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh, and an eighth. I’m very excited by the fact that this is moving fast now. We need it. Equality matters.”

Original article by Rebecca Rubin, Variety, October 29, 2023.