Jane Campion scooped the top prize of the night at the DGA Awards on Saturday — the Theatrical Feature Film award — for her Western The Power of the Dog.
This honor at DGA is historically the biggest predictor of who will win Best Director at Oscar, so Campion should get ready for more possible directing gold in two weeks’ time.
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In fact, since 1948, the winner of this award has won the Best Director Oscar every year, with only eight exceptions.
“I’m so really moved and honored by this voting for me,” Campion said in her acceptance speech, before thanking “my teacher, the master, Paul Thomas Anderson” — who also was DGA-nominated for Licorice Pizza.
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Presenting her with the award was Chloé Zhao, who took home this same award last year for Nomadland, which predictably won her Best Director at the Academy Awards — and Best Picture too.
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“I’m so proud of you,” Campion told Zhao, who was the first woman of color to win the Best Director Oscar. “I’m so proud of this woman. She’s made history, and she’s made everything better. I was so proud of her last year, and it’s just making such a difference. That’s why I’m here too. I’m here because I care about women having voices as well. I’m so excited about the next generation of filmmakers. Maggie Gyllenhaal made such a gorgeous film. Cutting edge, I love it.”
Campion led the way for female directors when she became the first woman ever to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes for The Piano, for which she also was Oscar-nominated. This year, her Best Director Academy nomination puts Campion in the history books again as the first woman ever to be Oscar-nominated twice in that category. She won the Screenplay Oscar for The Piano.
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