Jane Campion and Maggie Gyllenhaal Make History at DGA Awards

Awards

Jane Campion and Maggie Gyllenhaal Make History at DGA Awards

Jane Campion made history at last night’s DGA Awards, becoming the third woman ever to take home the night’s top honor, the Theatrical Feature Film award. Recognized for her first feature in over a decade, Western psychodrama “The Power of the Dog,” Campion’s win follows Chloé Zhao’s for “Nomadland” (2021) and Kathryn Bigelow’s for “The Hurt Locker” (2009).

This year also marked the first time in DGA history that women directors claimed the prizes for both feature film and first-time filmmaker. Maggie Gyllenhaal landed the latter honor for “The Lost Daughter,” her adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s portrait of an ambivalent mother reflecting on her relationship with her daughters.

While accepting her award, Campion praised both Zhao and Gyllenhaal. “I’m so proud of you,” she told Zhao. “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.” She added, “Maggie Gyllenhaal made such a gorgeous film. Cutting edge, I love it.”

Earlier in the evening, Campion reflected on the progress women filmmakers have made and will continue to make. “We’ve come so far,” she emphasized, “and what’s more: We’re never going backwards.”

In her acceptance speech, Gyllenhaal recalled the impact that seeing Campion’s 1993 period drama “The Piano” had on her. “Listen, I’ve seen so many incredible movies made by men,” she said. “I grew up learning that language until I was 15 years old and I walked into the movies and saw ‘The Piano.’ I had never seen anything like that. It changed me.”

Head over to The New York Times to check out the complete list of winners, which includes Lucia Aniello, who landed the award for Comedy Series thanks to her work on “Hacks,” HBO Max’s comedy about a stand-up legend and the Gen Z comedy writer she hires to punch up her jokes.