Jane Campion has made Oscars history. With today’s announcement of the 2022 Academy Awards nominees, the Power of the Dog director has become the first female filmmaker with two career nominations in the Best Director category.
Campion’s nomination for the Benedict Cumberbatch-starring Netflix drama The Power of the Dog comes nearly three decades after her first. Back in 1994, she received a nod in the category for directing The Piano, for which she took home the award for Best Original Screenplay.
In addition to setting this long-overdue record, Campion has a lot to be proud of regarding The Power of the Dog. The Western — set in rural Montana in the 1920s — leads the way this year with 12 nominations, also receiving recognition in the Best Picture, Cinematography, Production Design, Sound, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing categories.
Additionally, The Power of the Dog earned Cumberbatch a Best Actor nomination; Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee were both nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role; and Kirsten Dunst earned a nod for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Unsurprisingly, Jonny Greenwood earned his second Best Original Score nomination, too.
But despite Campion’s success, a recent report by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University revealed that the number of female directors who worked on top-grossing films actually decreased in 2021.
Revisit our review of The Power of the Dog here, and see the full list of 2022 Academy Awards nominees here.
