In the churn of TikTok and other skittish social media, where are the moments that stick? Today we are living through nostalgia for the mass water-cooler snapshots of yesteryear: the bold-faced interviews of Barbara Walters, the teen-dream stardom of the Brat Pack, written recollections of hitmaker Barbra Streisand. Now added to the pop culture heap is the story of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, the blockbuster magazine that helped launch the supermodel craze, and of Jule Campbell, the trailblazing editor behind the sensation. Directed by Campbell’s daughter-in-law Jill Campbell, the film starts out as a portrait of an artist creating a mass-market phenomenon, then opens up nicely into a reflection on living and the meaning—and end—of life. 

 Jill Campbell captures her mother-in-law in her nineties, going through her photo archive and reminiscing about lavish shoots on sunny beaches. Dry, composed, and lightly wearing the modesty of the truly confident, Campbell makes an intriguing subject by withholding aspects of her life and thoughts. As she says, “There’s no reason for everyone to know everything you did.” The documentary stretches back to the Mad Men days as Campbell started as an apprentice fashion editor. When she moved to Sports Illustrated in the 1970s, she and a male mentor came up with the idea of female models photographed in gorgeous locales. And a star-making media force was born.

Sexism and overbearing men surrounded Campbell from the get-go, but neither seemed to faze her. She attended every shoot, putting her foot down when male photographers ordered models into demeaning poses. Campbell’s spreads emphasized personality, athleticism, and fun. And she made sure to attach names to the faces of the models she featured. As the Swimsuit Issue exploded in the 1980s and 1990s into a huge seller and mass-culture touchstone, the models became high-earning household names. They express their gratitude here. Cheryl Tiegs, Roshumba Williams, Tyra Banks, and Christie Brinkley reminisce warmly about Campbell’s grace; Tiegs, Carol Alt, and Elle Macpherson spend precious time with the frail older woman. The tributes are moving and the models can be charming—when Brinkley spots a shot of herself with an ’80s big blonde ’do she gasps, “I look like one of the Marx Brothers!”

The film touches on issues and setbacks in Campbell’s career, showcasing a debate over whether the Swimsuit Issue was a symbol of sexism or of women empowerment. (Like most hot-potato arguments, the debate is inconclusive and won’t change anybody’s mind.) It reveals how the magazine’s brass underpaid Campbell and ditched her when the industry changed. But in the end, the documentary seems to argue between the lines that none of these things matter. Love, resilience and pride in work well done form the real score of our lives. As the increasingly fragile Campbell becomes aware that the end is near, her spirit shines through. “I’m a shell,” she declares, “but I’m glad to be a shell.”

This quietly inspiring film takes on the pop culture gaze, but at a deeper, more serene level also gazes calmly at the fate we all share.