Her memorial service was originally scheduled Dec. 9 but was postponed due to Bognar, Reichert’s husband, testing positive for COVID-19. Nonetheless, plans have developed in the ensuing months to create an outdoor service that is not only community-minded and open to all but a fitting tribute to her illustrious legacy.
“I think it will be a meaningful, celebratory event,” said Bognar. “It will be held under a big tent. The World House Choir, based in Yellow Springs, will perform. We’ll also have movie clips, speakers, food and drink. We’ll have lots of pictures of Julia to show as well as two short films about her.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Reflecting on the expressions of sympathy he and his family have received, Bognar has been moved by the outpouring of support across the nation. In addition to being grateful to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for including Reichert among the In Memoriam portion of this year’s Oscars, he has appreciated hearing how she influenced so many people along her pioneering path. He also views the magnitude of her humility as a vital testament to her character.
“As the months have gone on, I’m realizing she helped so many people and yet she never made a big deal about it or talked about it,” he said. “She was a community-builder to her core. She was always willing to help someone and get things done. She was never about the credit or the praise. She actually bristled at being praised. She just wanted to be helpful as others had helped her. The wider world knows her for her films, which is great, but within the Dayton community, especially our filmmaking community, she was also known as being a good contributing member of the community.”
‘She put in a lot of hard work in 50 years’
Reichert grew up in Bordentown Township, New Jersey and was a 1964 graduate of Bordentown Regional High School. She graduated from Antioch College in 1970 with a degree in documentary arts. In addition to serving as professor emeritus of film production at Wright State, she co-founded New Day Films and Indie Caucus, an advocacy group ensuring the sustainability of documentaries on PBS. She also won the International Documentary Association’s Career Achievement Award in 2018.
Credit: ANNIE REICHERT
Credit: ANNIE REICHERT
A longtime resident of Yellow Springs, Reichert received her first Academy Award nomination in 1977 with Klein and Miles Mogulescu for “Union Maids.” She was nominated again with Klein in 1984 for “Seeing Red: Stories of American Communists.” Partnering with Bognar, she received an Academy Award nomination in 2010 for “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant.” She ultimately won the Oscar in 2020 with Bognar for “American Factory.” She also shared two Emmys with Bognar for “A Lion in the House” (2006) and “American Factory,” which focused on the Chinese-owned Fuyao Glass America windshield plant that opened in the former General Motors factory in Moraine.
Additional credits include “Sparkle” (2012), “Making Morning Star” (2015) and “9 to 5: The Story of a Movement” (2020). Most recently she and Bognar profiled the career of comedian Dave Chappelle in “8:46″ (2020) and “Dave Chappelle: Live in Real Life” (2021).
Credit: DAVID HOLM
Credit: DAVID HOLM
“Growing Up Female,” Reichert and Klein’s 1971 documentary showcasing how girls and women are socialized, was selected in 2011 by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry of historically significant films. The film served as Reichert’s senior project at Antioch College. “Union Maids” was added to the 2022 National Film Registry.
“It means so much to me that she received her due these last few years and even since her death,” said Bognar. “She put in a lot of hard work in 50 years.”
‘I want to carry her legacy’
Reichert and Bognar were a couple for 35 years, marrying in the summer of 2020 prior to “a big and scary surgery to fight her cancer.” Bognar fondly recalled the collaboration that brought them together personally and professionally.
“We became filmmaking partners, as co-directors and co-producers, in 1997 when we started making our film ‘A Lion in the House,’” he said. “The nine years of making that film was a true forge for us, as filmmakers, as human beings, and as a couple. It was the hardest film we ever made, but it made us a lot stronger, and made our bond to each other even stronger. And in making that film, we truly learned how to be filmmaking partners, with all the huge amount of trust that it requires.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
As he continues to navigate his grief, Bognar said he has found peace being a part of events honoring Reichert. In January he shared insights about her at the Cinema Eye Honors Awards in New York. In March he spoke at the True/False Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri, one of Reichert’s favorite film festivals. He was in New York April 13 to attend Lincoln Center’s memorial service for Reichert, and he will return May 18 to deliver a special presentation during the Museum of Modern Art’s retrospective of her career.
“Doing these events is kind of like my therapy,” he explained. “It means a lot to get to talk about her in any context. I’m hungry to do that right now. I want to carry her legacy.”
Assessing his next chapter, Bognar is unsure of when he’ll be ready to create again, but he’s thankful for Reichert’s indelible, inspirational imprint on his life.
“I want to continue to make films,” he said. “There are more stories to tell. I love the art form, but the hard thing will be to do it without the other half of my brain. It will be a whole new road. Julia was brilliant and we often sparred creatively but with deep love for each other. I’m going to miss that creative energy and friction because that’s where good ideas come from. I’m going to have to learn to do it on my own or find a new collaborator, but I’ll never find someone like Julia.”
Credit: LELA KLEIN
Credit: LELA KLEIN
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