‘Beyond the Gaze: Jule Campbell’s Swimsuit Issue’ Set to Premiere at Woodstock Film Festival

Directed by Jill Campbell, the project highlights the achievements of the visionary founding editor of SI Swimsuit.

Jule Campbell with Stephanie Seymour. / Courtesy of Jule Campbell

Early this morning, the 25th Woodstock Film Festival revealed the lineup for films scheduled to premiere at the New York event between Oct. 15 and 20. In addition to a slew of narrative features, several documentaries are slated to premiere, including Beyond the Gaze: Jule Campbell’s Swimsuit Issue, directed by Jill Campbell.

Jule Campbell, the founding editor of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, is the subject matter of daughter-in-law Jill’s documentary, which has been in the works for many years. We chatted with Jill in December of 2022, just after Jule’s death at the age of 96, about the project, which at the time was still untitled. Beyond the Gaze explores Jule’s life and career as a woman who broke glass ceilings in a male-dominated industry, and features interviews with moguls and SI Swimsuit models like Christie Brinkley, Tyra Banks, Elle Macpherson, Paulina Porizkova, Kathy Ireland and Carol Alt.

“Jule possessed a magnetism that was born out of contradiction. She lived a glamorous life, traveling every inch of the world working with the most iconic models, photographers and journalists of her day, but what made her special was her deep sense of empathy and the authentic interest she took in the lives of those around her, whether she had known them for 10 minutes or 30 years,” Jill told SI Swimsuit. “She was at once classically refined and wholly modern, a beauty and a career girl who waited to get married, choosing not to wear a wedding ring because she ‘never wanted to feel beholden to anyone.’”

Learn more about the documentary, produced by Red Barn Productions LLC. and executive-produced by EUE/Screen Gems Documentaries LLC., here.