Jill Campbell
Jill Campbell - Director, Producer, and Editor aims to present authentic stories that highlight and enlighten the audience’s connection to the human spirit. Her goal is to better understand and celebrate the lives of her subjects and gain perspective in relation to our own personal journies.
In 2017, Jill directed the award-winning documentary MR. CHIBBS, following NBA All-Star Kenny Anderson, 15 years post-retirement and in the midst of a mid-life crisis. The Village Voice Critics Pick premiered at DOC NYC and screened theatrically at NYC’s IFC Center and Alamo Drafthouse ( Cargo Film, Abramarama Films). “Mr, Chibbs” won awards at Miami Film Festival and Milan’s Ficts Film Festival. The film is screening on Amazon Prime, and Kanopy, Peacock, and Tubi.
In 2015, Jill was among 20 filmmakers awarded a scholarship to Killer Films/Stony Brook Southampton’s 20/20/20 program.
In 2020 Jill directed and produced SEAT20D which examines artist Suse Lowenstein’s Dark Elegy sculpture garden created as a way to cope with her grief over the murder of her son on Pan Am Flight 103. The film premiered at Hampton’s Doc Fest and Canada’s Art Fifa and won Best Documentary at The Jane Austin Film Festival (UK).
Other notable films Jill’s produced include DANCING ACROSS BORDERS (2010), OUT OF PRINT (Tribeca Film Festival ), and NEVER TOO LATE the Doc Severinsen Story (2021). Jill is a member of the Producer’s Guild of America and a Chair of their Documentary Salon Series. A graduate of Hunter College’s IMA/MFA documentary program, Jill has been a lecturer of film at Purchase College and Adelphi University and is a produced playwright with works produced at La MaMa, Mabou Mines, the London Fringe and the Dublin Fringe Festival.
Jill is presently directing, producing, and editing a feature documentary that explores the life and career of her life mentor, Jule Campbell. Jule was the Founding Editor of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The documentary is produced by Red Barn Productions, LLC, and Executive Produced by EUE/Documentaries.
What They Say…
“This film is a moving and powerful piece that captures the tragedy and fight to keep the memory of these terrorist attack victims alive. However, Seat 20D also gives us a glimpse into how we view grief and the grieving in our culture.” — Cinema Sentries
"Mr. Chibbs is an excellent documentary about the life, career, and many mistakes throughout Kenny Anderson's life." — Film Journal International
"One of Campbell's strengths is pacing, she lets Anderson’s story unfold along with his memories." — The Village Voice (Critics Pick).
"The documentary Mr. Chibbs is a story on how Kenny Anderson, former NBA All-Star, has struggled to find his way past the fame that once came so easy and how he has to deal with life outside of the game. It’s not the typical look into an athlete in any way shape or form that has been done before. There are layers upon layers of honesty, joy, hurt, bravado, shame, ignorance, and innocence portrayed in this film by all who appear in it." — Shaw Sports
"We give thanks to Off-Off Broadway's La Mama, and playwright Jill Campbell's spectacular Chemistry of Love, for waking me up to the fact that new and engaging permutations of stagecraft are still a possibility." — Culture Catch
All Things Hoops — “It’s a basketball story, but it’s a lot about life. A cautionary tale. A joy to watch and recommended to anyone out there.”
