BEYOND THE GAZE:
JULE CAMPBELL’S SWIMSUIT ISSUE
Screening times & tickets:
Dir. Jill Campbell | Documentary | U.S.A. | 2024 | 1 hr. 47 min.
Followed by a discussion with Director
Jill Campbell
In the 1960s, Jule Campbell shattered glass ceilings, transforming a struggling magazine into a media empire: the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. As founding editor of that special edition, she championed and empowered the models who soon became household names—Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley, and many others. Featuring interviews with them—and Ms. Campbell, at age 95—this film chronicles her 32-year reign during the evolutions of feminism and fashion. Exploring the changing gaze on beauty, from objectification to body positivity, it portrays a complex, fascinating woman and her controversial career.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Robert Stone is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker recognized for Best Feature Documentary and a three-time Emmy nominee for Exceptional Merit in Documentary filmmaking, with a celebrated career spanning over 35 years and a multitude of awards. Prominent film critic Owen Gleiberman, chief critic for Variety, has lauded Stone as “one of our most important documentary filmmakers,” highlighting his direction of “two of the most explosively insightful documentaries of the last decade.” His notable works include Radio Bikini, Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst, Oswald's Ghost, Earth Days, Pandora's Promise, and the epic six-hour documentary series Chasing the Moon.
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As a child, I was captivated by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke's cinematic masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Less than a year later I watched in awe as the first humans set foot upon another world. These early experiences shaped my worldview and inspired me to pursue a career as a filmmaker. Many of my films over the past 35 years have to do with humanity’s complex relationship with technology. This film is no exception.
To me, space inhabits our imagination on a spectrum that runs from the awe-inspiring realities of human and robotic exploration over the last half century, to science fiction projections of interplanetary travel and contact
with alien civilizations, and even to the widespread belief that intelligent aliens are already visiting the Earth. It is all part of a story we tell ourselves about our place in the cosmos and the profound questions we have about whether or not we are alone.
In crafting STARMAN I found a kindred spirit in Gentry Lee, who’s life’s work has centered around these scientific explorations and speculative inquiries. With Gentry as our guide, we were able to weave a tale that combines our collective fascination with space with a moving and profound first-person narrative.