The Golden Globe Foundation joins the film community in mourning the passing of Jill Godmilow, acclaimed documentarian, author, preservationist, and professor emerita at the University of Notre Dame, whose groundbreaking work reshaped the landscape of documentary filmmaking. She died on September 15, 2025, at the age of 81.
Born Joan Godmilow on November 23, 1943, near Philadelphia, she studied Russian literature at the University of Wisconsin–Madison before turning to film. Over the course of five decades, Godmilow established herself as one of America’s most influential independent filmmakers, known for her innovative embrace of Post-Realism in documentary.
Acclaimed Films and Honors
Godmilow’s films broke new ground, challenged conventions, and earned international recognition:
- Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman (1974) — Academy Award nominee, selected for the National Film Registry
- Far From Poland (1984) — a daring exploration of the Solidarity movement, for which she was knighted in 2015 with the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
- Waiting for the Moon (1987) — Grand Prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival, chronicling the lives of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas
- Roy Cohn/Jack Smith (1994) — premiered at the Toronto Film Festival
- What Farocki Taught (1998) — featured at the 2000 Whitney Biennial, later restored by IndieCollect in 2021
- The SCUM Manifesto (2017)
Her body of work also included The Popovich Brothers of South Chicago, Mabou Mines’ Lear ’87 Archive, The Odyssey Tapes, and Nevelson in Process.
Jill Godmilow in 1987.
Advocate, Educator, and Author
Beyond her films, Jill Godmilow was a gifted teacher and mentor as a longtime professor in the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre at the University of Notre Dame. Her most recent book, Kill the Documentary: A Letter to Filmmakers, Students, and Scholars (Columbia University Press, 2022), was described by film theorist Bill Nichols as “a manifesto” for Post-Realism in documentary.
Champion for Film Preservation
In 1984, Godmilow co-founded the nonprofit Laboratory for Icon & Idiom (today known as IndieCollect) with Mark Magill and Sandra Schulberg. IndieCollect is dedicated to rescuing, restoring, and archiving independent films—ensuring that works which might otherwise be lost are preserved for future generations. Its acclaimed 4K restorations have been celebrated by the New York Film Critics Circle, and in 2024, the National Society of Film Critics bestowed on IndieCollect its prestigious Film Heritage Award.
The Golden Globe Foundation is proud to support IndieCollect, whose preservation work included the restoration of Godmilow’s own What Farocki Taught, which premiered in 2021 as part of a retrospective at Anthology Film Archives.
A Lasting Legacy
Godmilow’s contributions as a filmmaker, author, and advocate for independent cinema leave an indelible mark on film history. Her work continues to inspire filmmakers, students, and audiences worldwide, ensuring that her vision and lifelong pursuit of innovation in documentary will live on.
Header image: Cast & crew shot from Waiting for the Moon. Jill Godmilow sits at the right side of the “cubist table,” with Bruce McGill, who played Ernest Hemingway, Linda Bassett, who played Gertrude Stein, Linda Hunt, who played Alice Toklas, Bernadette Lafont who played Picasso’s companion Fernande Oliver, Co-author Mark Magill, Producer Sandra Schulberg, Editor Georges Klotz, Line producer & AD Frédéric Bourboulon, DP Andre Neau, Production & Talent Coordinator KC Schulberg. Photo credit: Maryse Alberti.
