CAMPION, JANE (1954– ). Internationally acclaimed director Jane Campion was born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1954; however, she now makes her home in Sydney, Australia. She attended the *Australian Film Television and Radio School, which introduced her to the craft, and she has already directed at least 14 feature films, produced three features, and been credited as writer for eight. In addition, she has worked as an actress, cinematographer, editor, casting director, and camera operator between 1982 and 1989. At the 1986 Cannes Film Festival, her first short film Peel (1982) won the Palme D’Or; other awards followed for the short films Passionless Moments (1983) and Girl’s Own Story (1984). Her feature film directorial debut was for Sweetie (1989), which won major international awards, including the Georges Sadoul Prize in 1989 for best foreign film, the Los Angeles Film Critics’ New Generation Award in 1990, the American Independent Spirit Award for best foreign feature, and the Australian Critics’ Awards for best film, best director, and best actress.
In 1990, Campion directed An Angel at My Table, a dramatized autobiography of Janet Frame, which won the best director prize at the New Zealand Film and Television Awards. In 1993, she won a Golden Palm at Cannes for The Piano paralleled by a best director award from the *Australian Film Institute. That film won her an Oscar for best screenplay in 1994. Since then, she has been less successful. The Portrait of a Lady (1996), based on the Henry James’ novel of the same name and starring *Nicole Kidman, John Malkovich, and Barbara Hershey, was not well received by critics and filmgoers. The quirky and erotic Holy Smoke (1999), starring Harvey Keitel and Kate Winslet, quickly reduces to the man-versus-woman battle that dominates Campion’s oeuvre. In this case, the man is a complete fool, even dancing around the Australian desert in a dress and lipstick, like some spawn from *Priscilla, while Winslet’s character dominates him. In the Cut (2003) is a move into the erotic thriller *genre based on Susanna Moore’s bestseller, at least on the surface, but it has not been well received either.
CLARKE, JOHN (1948– ). Now living in Melbourne, Australia, New Zealand-born John Clarke is famous for his *comedy and political satire, and is regarded as one of the best humorists in the region. His television political satire serves up some of the immortal moments in comedy. He has worked in many fields within the film and television industry: as an actor, writer, crew member, director, composer, and producer. He has 23 acting appearances and 17 film writing credits, as well as credits for writing and directing programs and films for television. Writing credits include Dagg Day Afternoon (1977)—he also composed the songs—*Lonely Hearts (1982), Man and Boy (1986), Lust and Revenge (1996), and The Man Who Sued God (2001), starring comedian Billy Connolly.
The rise of Clarke’s personal star matches that of the *revival in the Australian and New Zealand industry. His first film appearance was as the expatriate in The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972). He subsequently returned to New Zealand to play Dr. Daggenheimer in Geoff Murphy’s Wild Man (1977) and later starred in and directed (with Murphy again) Dagg Day Afternoon (1977). As Fred Dagg, he wore a black singlet, crumpled hat, shorts and gumboots, and satirized post-pioneering “blokes” and “blokesses” in a way that made the character an instant icon. Clarke was nominated for an *Australian Film Institute best screenplay award in 1982 for Lonely Hearts, which was shared with Paul Cox, and the film won the best film award. Lonely Hearts is a drama about two older people who begin to have feelings for each other, told with compassion and humor, and full of real characters who surround and complicate everyday lives. In 1986, he was the voice of the farmer Wal, in the animated story of farmer and dog, Footrot Flats: The Dog’s Tale. He played Sheedy, alongside other luminaries of the Australian industry like *Bryan Brown and *Russell Crowe, in Stephen Wallace’s Prisoners of the Sun (also Blood Oath) (1990), which told the story of the court-martial of murderous Japanese soldiers on the island of Ambon after World War II. Clarke then played in the Australian black comedy *Death in Brunswick (1991), as the gravedigger Dave, best friend of Carl Fitzgerald (Sam Neill), and his best friend is committed to help him overcome his travails. As the shifty poker machine licensee Bernie Fowler in the Australian comedy Crackerjack (2002), he stands opposite those who want to maintain the genteel lifestyle of a poker-machine free club, but are faced with dwindling membership and financial resources.
Clarke’s other film appearances include the self-directed Man and Boy (1986), *George Miller’s Les Patterson Saves the World (1987), Those Dear Departed (1987), Never Say Die (1988), and The Alive Tribe (1997).
CROWE, RUSSELL. See entry in Australian section.