March 1st: AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE (Jane Campion, 1990)

The life of celebrated New Zealand writer Janet Frame, a social outsider who stayed in various mental institutions, was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, and as a patient began publishing stories.

Writer-director Jane Campion studied anthropology in her native New Zealand before moving to Australia and earning a degree in painting. Within a year was working with film and entered the national Film, Television, and Radio School. Her short film Peel won the top award in its category at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986, and her debut feature Sweetie competed there three years later, also winning multiple international awards.

Campion was deeply affected in her teenage years by Frame's fictional writing, and when the author published her trio of autobiographies in the 1980s, the director became interested in adapting them as a television miniseries. The scripts were written by Laura Jones (who had previously worked with Australian director Gillian Armstrong).

Three separate actresses were chosen to play Frame at different stages of her young life, the last being Kerry Fox (Danny Boyle's Shallow Grave) in her film debut, also an admirer of Frame's work. The other two were chosen from casting searches at schools looking specifically for shy girls. Behind the camera was cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh, who would collaborate with Campion again. The film was shot on location in Auckland, New Zealand, as well as London, Paris, and Catalonia in Spain.

Editing was completed with Campion's frequent editor Veronika Jenet, and a musical score composed by rock musician (and fellow New Zealander) Don McGlashan. The successful reception of the TV broadcast led to a theatrical distribution of the film, despite Campion's visual approach being specifically tailored for the small screen, less impressionistic than her usual work, and  tighter-framed shots of her characters.

The film entered competition at the Venice Film Festival, where Campion won the second-highest award, the Grand Special Jury Prize. It also received the International Critics' Award at the Toronto Film Festival, Best Foreign Film from the Independent Spirit Awards, and Best Film, Actress, Director, Screenplay, and Cinematography honors at the New Zealand Film and TV Awards.

Running time is approx. 2.5 hours.