The Piano
... Consider the mode of production: who financed it and on what basis? Did the financiers apply special pressure on the filmmakers to produce a certain kind of film? Was the script and production altered to accommodate the agenda of a funding body or financier? CoAn historical insight: how does the film fit into the Australian scene at the time it was made? Does the film have any continuing influence? Jane Campion’s third feature film, The Piano, made history in 1993 when she became the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, establishing her reputation as an auteur director. A dark and disturbing exploration of nineteenth century sexuality, the relationships of the central characters unfold in a landscape that is strangely foreign and hauntingly beautiful in its majesty. The Piano is on one level a grand narrative in the Victorian tradition, a Gothic romance and yet, very much, a contemporary work. The Piano became one of the most honoured of Australian films and a truly international success, with the collaboration of a New Zealand director, Australian producer, American stars, French finance and American and Spanish distributors. It had its beginnings in the mid-1980s when Jane Campion showed Jan Chapman, later her producer, a treatment for The Piano, an ambitious project for an inexperienced filmmaker. They worked together, on and off, for eight years, visiting deserted locations in New Zealand, before production began in 1991. Script development funding was received from the AFC and the NSWFTO, which enabled them to develop a presentation package of a screenplay and a series of inspirational photographs. These formed the basis of applications for financial assistance and casting exercises in the UK and USA. After initial disappointments, they met with Pierre Ressient, the Cannes Film Festival representative who had selected Campion’s three short films, Peel (1982), Passionless Moments (1983) and A Girl’s Own Story (1984) into the Un Certain Regard section of the 1986 Festival, at which Peel won the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film. He introduced them to Monsieur Bougyues of the French company, CiBy 2000, who was looking to finance some “special films and filmmakers from around the world.” CiBy 2000’s financial involvement afforded the filmmakers the creative freedom to cast the film outside the prescribed list of Hollywood’s A, B and C actors, and Americans Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel were cast in the leading roles of Ada and Baines, against the prevailing advice. Sam Neill (Stewart), Anna Paquin (Flora), Kerry Walker (Aunt Morag) and Genevieve Lemon (Nessie), from Australian and New Zealand backgrounds, made up the remainder of the major cast. After Cannes, the film was distributed by US Miramax Films and Spain’s Cinemussy. The Piano went on to be nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Screenplay, as well as receiving a great number of nominations, accolades and awards throughout the international film world. Consider the mode of production: who financed it and on what basis? Did the financiers apply special pressure on the filmmakers to produce a certain kind of film? Was the script and production altered to accommodate the agenda of a funding body or financier? Consider aesthetic issues: What kind of film is it? Is it a biography, a litrary adaptation, an original screenplay? What is the genre? Once the genre is identified, what are the conventions of that genre and how has the filmmaker responded to those conventions? Try to come to terms with the visual and aural style of the piece, including camera, sound, design and casting? Offer an interpretation of the film in terms of its style and content, paying particular attention to the creation and effects of the film’s mise-en-scene. An historical insight: how does the film fit into the Australian scene at the time it was made? Does the film have any continuing influence? Jane Campion’s third feature film, The Piano, made history in 1993 when she became the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, establishing her reputation as an auteur director. A dark and disturbing exploration of nineteenth century sexuality, the relationships of the central characters unfold in a landscape that is strangely foreign and hauntingly beautiful in its majesty. The Piano is on one level a grand narrative in the Victorian tradition, a Gothic romance and yet, very much, a contemporary work. The Piano became one of the most honoured of Australian films and a truly international success, with the collaboration of a New Zealand director, Australian producer, American stars, French finance and American and Spanish distributors. It had its beginnings in the mid-1980s when Jane Campion showed Jan Chapman, later her producer, a treatment for The Piano, an ambitious project for an inexperienced filmmaker. They worked together, on and off, for eight years, visiting deserted locations in New Zealand, before production began in 1991. Script development funding was received from the AFC and the NSWFTO, which enabled them to develop a presentation package of a screenplay and a series of inspirational photographs. These formed the basis of applications for financial assistance and casting exercises in the UK and USA. After initial disappointments, they met with Pierre Ressient, the Cannes Film Festival representative who had selected Campion’s three short films, Peel (1982), Passionless Moments (1983) and A Girl’s Own Story (1984) into th...