A tribute to Jane Campion’s film school, A Wave in the Ocean

A Wave in the Ocean, the film school conceived in 2022 and directed in Wellington (Aotearoa New Zealand) by the two-time Oscar®-winning director Jane Campion (The Piano, The Power of the Dog), will be honoured with a tribute at the 82^nd Venice International Film Festival of La Biennale di Venezia (27 August – 6 September 2025) that will feature the screening of seven short films by seven of its young students. Furthermore, Lion Rock (16’) by Nick Mayow and Prisca Bouchet, which was also made with A Wave in the Ocean, will be in competition in the Orizzonti Short Films section.

At the conclusion of the formal 12 month workshop programme of the intensive, thanks to AWITO’s Netflix sponsorship, each of the filmmakers has been mentored by Jane Campion and co-director Philippa Campbell and financed to make an original short film. The films were all completed in time to submit to the Venice Film Festival in 2025.

«It struck me, that the conditions in which I was given a true opportunity to be a filmmaker are not available today and have never been in Aotearoa – declared Jane Campion –. In 1981 I was lucky enough to attend film school in Australia where everyone was not only paid a living stipend but we were able to make short films with budgets supplied by the school as well meet and be together with like-minded students some of whom I’m still close to. In my experience the true learning happened on projects and between peers. This moment feels like a time to give back and I am incredibly grateful that Netflix has chosen to fully support this Pop Up Film Intensive which I characterise as A Wave in the Ocean».

«When I saw the eight graduation short films from the film school which Jane Campion unwaveringly envisioned and directed – stated Alberto Barbera – I was struck by the exceptional quality of each of them. It is rare that at the end of a learning cycle, the students are all able to make short films that demonstrate such a level of professionalism and genuine talent. The credit must certainly go to Jane Campion and the co-director Philippa Campbell, who have passed on their knowledge to a group of promising young filmmakers, whom I hope to see soon taking on the challenge of their first feature film».

The day after the screening of the short films, Jane Campion will hold a masterclass to talk about the experience of the school she founded.

The following are the seven films and authors to be presented on the Lido as part of the Tribute to the A Wave in the Ocean school, in addition to Lion Rock by Nick Mayow and Prisca Bouchet, in competition in the Orizzonti Shorts section:

• A Very Good Boy by Samuel Te Kani
• Girl Time by Eleanor Bishop
• Socks by Todd Karehana
• In Conversation with Jack Maurer by Hash Perambalam
• The Girl Next Door by Mingjian Cui
• Kurī by Ana Chaya Scotney
• The Brightness by Freya Silas Finch

A New Zealander director, screenwriter and producer, Campion is the first female director to receive the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, for The Piano (1993). Her second feature, An Angel at My Table, was awarded the Grand Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1990. Jane wrote, directed, and was a producer on The Power of the Dog, which was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival in 2021 and won Best Director at the 94^th Academy Awards®, as well as 2 Golden Globe awards and 2 BAFTA awards.