Jill Godmilow obit

In Memoriam: Jill Godmilow 1943-2025

 She was not on the list.

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Jill Godmilow, acclaimed documentarian and Professor Emeritus of Film, Television, and Theatre at the University of Notre Dame. Godmilow was a fearless and innovative filmmaker whose works include Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman (1974, with collaborator Judy Collins, nominated for an Academy Award and selected for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress), Far From Poland (1984), What Farocki Taught (1998), and Roy Cohn/Jack Smith (1994). Her films consistently challenged conventions of documentary form and pushed audiences to reconsider the politics of representation. Godmilow was also a deeply influential teacher and mentor whose rigorous, generous guidance shaped generations of filmmakers and scholars. At Notre Dame, she championed critical approaches to media and nurtured students with curiosity, creativity, and conviction. Beyond her own films, she contributed to the broader field through her writing and advocacy, including her influential book Kill the Documentary: A Letter to Filmmakers, Students, and Scholars, which Bill Nichols called “a manifesto" for post-realism in documentary. She will be deeply missed by her students, colleagues, and all who were inspired by her work. SCMS extends its heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and the wider community touched by her life and scholarship.

She was an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre at the University of Notre Dame. Godmilow is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Born Joan Godmilow near Philadelphia, the younger daughter of Herbert and Beatrice (Schlaifman) Godmilow, she studied Russian literature at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, graduating in 1965.

Godmilow's 1974 film with collaborator Judy Collins, Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman, was about female conductor Antonia Brico. It received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and in 2003 the film was selected for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. In 1984, she made Far From Poland, a non-fiction feature about contradictions in the Polish Solidarity movement, filmed entirely in the U.S. It was heralded for breaking new ground in the documentary genre.

Director

SCUM Manifesto (2017)

SCUM Manifesto

Short

co-director

2017

 

Mabou Mines' Lear '87 Archive (Condensed) (2001)

Mabou Mines' Lear '87 Archive (Condensed)

Video

Director

2001

 

What Farocki Taught

5.9

Short

Director

1998

 

Roy Cohn/Jack Smith (1994)

Roy Cohn/Jack Smith

6.1

Director

1994

 

The Odyssey Tapes

Short

co-director

1988

 

Waiting for the Moon (1987)

Waiting for the Moon

6.3

Director

1987

 

Far from Poland (1984)

Far from Poland

6.1

Director

1984

 

Louise Nevelson in Nevelson in Process (1977)

Nevelson in Process

Short

Director

1977

 

The Popovich Brothers of South Chicago (1977)

The Popovich Brothers of South Chicago

8.7

Director

1977

 

Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman (1974)

Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman

6.8

co-director

1974

 

Tales

Director

1971

 

Writer

What Farocki Taught

5.9

Short

writer

1998

 

Waiting for the Moon (1987)

Waiting for the Moon

6.3

story

1987

 

Actress

Far from Poland (1984)

Far from Poland

6.1

Jill

1984

 

Producer

SCUM Manifesto (2017)

SCUM Manifesto

Short

producer

2017

 

Mabou Mines' Lear '87 Archive (Condensed) (2001)

Mabou Mines' Lear '87 Archive (Condensed)

Video

producer

2001

 

The Loft Tapes: Student Films from Notre Dame

2.5

co-producer

1999

 

What Farocki Taught

5.9

Short

producer

1998

 

The Odyssey Tapes

Short

producer

1988

 

Cinematographer

Mabou Mines' Lear '87 Archive (Condensed) (2001)

Mabou Mines' Lear '87 Archive (Condensed)

Video

Cinematographer

2001

 

Editor

What Farocki Taught

5.9

Short

Editor

1998

 

Louise Nevelson in Nevelson in Process (1977)

Nevelson in Process

Short

Editor

1977

 

Visions (1976)

Visions

5.9

TV Series

Editor

1976

1 episode

 

Editorial Department

Seeing Red (1983)

Seeing Red

7.4

consulting editor

1983

 

The Candidate (1972)

The Candidate

7.0

assistant editor

1972

 

Additional Crew

Restroom

8.4

Short

supervising faculty

1996

 

Thanks

Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington in People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia' (2003)

People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia'

7.3

Video

special thanks

2003

 

Nathaniel Dorsky, Tom Fitzpatrick, Elsa Gidlow, Pat Bond, Tede Mathews, and David Gillon in Word Is Out (1977)

Word Is Out

8.0

special thanks

1977

 

Self

Calling the Shots (1988)

Calling the Shots

7.1

Self

1988