My own discovery of Jane Campion’s 16mm short films came at an important time for me. They were one of the first examples I ever saw – along with Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise – of a non-Hollywood, non-traditional narrative film. It really showed me that a different path could be taken as a filmmaker and it hinted at the existence of a different film universe.

What struck me about A GIRL’S OWN STORY is Campion’s frank depiction of teenage sexual curiosity, her mixing of straight narrative with musical numbers, and the striking, expressionist dream sequence ending. In a just world, this is the kind of stuff that would be on MTV.