Jill Campbell is an award-winning documentary Director, Producer, and Editor. She began her career working at New York’s Public Theater and writing and producing plays at LaMama, the Dublin Fringe Festival, across the London fringe scene, and as a fellow at Mabou Mines. In addition to her projects, Jill assists other filmmakers as a producer and editor working on over 15 feature and short-form documentaries that have screened at major festivals worldwide including Tribeca, DOC NYC, Atlanta, Art Fifa, Montclair, Miami, Newport Beach, Full Frame, Seattle, Woodstock, Santa Barbara, Omaha, Doc Utah, and Warsaw. Some of Jill’s recent producing credits include: Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story (American Masters, 2020). Jill has directed three feature-length documentaries, including Mr. Chibbs (Cargo Films), a 2017 Village Voice Critic’s Pick. Mr. Chibbs traces the rise and fall of NBA legend Kenny Anderson. Seat 20D (First Run Features) is a meditation on the healing power of self-expression that follows artist Suse Lowenstein’s journey to overcome her grief following the murder of her son. Jill obtained her MFA from Hunter College’s IMA program, where she concentrated on documentary filmmaking. In 2015, she was awarded a fellowship to Killer Films/Stonybrook Southampton’s 20/20/20 program and has been a Mabou Mines Resident Artist. She has served as Chair of the Producer Guild’s Documentary Salon and has been an Adjunct Professor at Purchase College and Adelphi University. Beyond the Gaze: Jule Campbell’s Swimsuit Issue is Jill’s third and most personal feature documentary. The award-winning film premiered in October 2024 at the Woodstock Film Festival, where Jill was nominated for Excellence in Directing a Documentary Film.
Please List the Title of Your Film at BIFF 2025
Beyond the Gaze: Jule Campbell’s Swimsuit Issue
What was your first experience with film and how did it influence your first project?
I was working for an artist, and his girlfriend Anne Bass was directing a documentary “Dancing Across Borders.” They asked if I would help out, and I soon became Associate Producer on the project. I was a theater major in college, yet I found myself obsessed with the film majors, hanging out with them and acting in their films. I had spent the years following graduation producing theater and writing plays. My goal was always to share authentic moments of humanity where we can learn something about ourselves and others. While working on “Dancing Across Borders,” I found myself obsessed with the art form because it allowed me to incorporate all my theater and writing experience into a documentary experience. This influenced my first project as a director, as I utilized the classic structure I strove to adhere to in my plays and screenwriting. In a documentary, classic structure is always a challenge as we are not writing the story; we are given the story and must learn how to turn that into a compelling work. I realized on “Dancing Across Borders” that although I knew how to produce and understood many things instinctively about the filmmaking process, I was lacking in my knowledge of the usage of film equipment, shots, lenses, setups, etc. Working on a film is a whole other level of collaboration. I enrolled in Hunter College’s IMA program, where I received my MFA with a concentration in documentary film. I learned about cameras. I learned how to edit. I learned how to color correct. I learned how to utilize the tools that would help me realize my vision as a director and help me direct others as I understood the tools they were utilizing. This gave me the knowledge and confidence to embark on my first film, which was a documentary about my playwriting mentor, British playwright Bernard Kops. I never quite finished that film, as I was soon commissioned to direct my second film, “Mr. Chibbs.” I have learned so much since the Bernard Kops documentary, and I hope to go back to it someday and finish it properly.
Who is (are) your favorite filmmakers?
Chantal Ackerman, Quentin Tarantino, Agnes Varda, Albert Maysles, Sean Baker, Lucy Walker, Liz Garbus, Frederick Wiseman, Barbara Kopple
What are you working on that no one knows about?
So many things. I have about five projects that I am currently auditioning in my brain. One is a very cool hybrid film that I have been working on for a while. It was inspired by a book I found in a bookstore in the Hudson Valley. I would love to combine a documentary technique with actors improvising. I know this sounds paranoid, but I have had ideas stolen before, so I am going to keep them to myself. I am looking for stories that involve hope. We are living in such dark and confusing times. I am finding people are gravitating towards hope and that is one of the reasons that “Beyond the Gaze” seems to be landing so strongly with audiences, especially with women. Jule’s story is one of hope and authenticity. I love stories about strong women, or about underdogs, or a twist in the character’s conscience.
Who would play you in a movie? What’s your go to movie snack? What’s the film title that best describes your life?
Who would play me? Katrhyn Hahn
Movie Snack: Popcorn drenched in butter
Film title that best describes my life: Terms of Endearment
