With the phenomenal success of <i>The Piano </i>(1993), Jane Campion became revered by many as the leading female film director of the 90s. Along with her earlier films, including <i>Sweetie</i> (1989 ) and <i>An Angel at My Table</i> (1990), <i>The Piano</i> inspired intense responses from audiences (often split along gender lines). As a film-maker, Campion suggests new possibilities for a cinema of fervent emotionalism and the representation of feminine fantasy and desire on screen.<br> In this first full-length study of Jane Campion, Dana Polan examines the phenomenon of <i>The Piano </i>and how it developed from the early shorts and first features that evoke an often surreal and critically-distanced style of looking at everyday issues. Considering all of Campion's work up to<i>Holy Smoke </i>(1999), which returned again to the battleground of gender politics, Polan concludes his survey of the Director's work by offering some hypotheses about her upcoming erotic thriller <i>In the Cut </i> (2001) while asking what variety of approaches to the study of directors might be fruitful at the present time.<br> This is one of the first of a new BFI series, World Directors, which will explore the diversity and complexity of international cinema through studies of important and challenging filmmakers from across the globe.