Janet Frame grows up in an impoverished family, experiencing numerous tragedies in her youth, including the deaths of two of her siblings. Hospitalized for eight years after a mistaken schizophrenia diagnosis, Frame will find acclaim for her writing—and her success will help her move on in life.

In her breakthrough feature, New Zealand’s Jane Campion brings to the screen a Künstlerroman in tribute to her much-overlooked compatriot, writer Janet Frame: a woman who’s unexpected win of a literary prize in 1951 saved her from a lobotomy. A film tripartite in structure, and immaculately told.