Julia Reichert, the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker whose films explored themes of race, class and gender, often in the Midwest, has died. She was 76.
She died Thursday night in Ohio from cancer, her family said Friday through a representative. She was diagnosed with stage four urothelial cancer in April 2018.
Often called the 鈥済odmother of American independent documentaries,鈥� Reichart told the stories of ordinary Americans, from autoworkers dealing with both plant closures (2009's 鈥淭he Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant鈥�) and foreign investors (2019's 鈥淎merican Factory鈥�), to members of the American Communist Party (1983's 鈥淪eeing Red鈥�) to female labor activists in the 1930s (1976's 鈥淯nion Maids鈥�).
In her 50 years of filmmaking, Reichert won two Primetime Emmy Awards and was winning one with her partner Steven Bognar for 鈥淎merican Factory鈥� in 2020. She quoted 鈥淭he Communist Manifesto鈥� in her speech, saying 鈥渢hings will get better when workers of the world unite.鈥�
She was also nominated for two Peabody Awards.
Veteran film producer Ira Deutchman wrote on Twitter that she was one of 鈥渢he kindest, most generous people I鈥檝e ever had the pleasure to work with."
鈥淗er spirit was so indominable that somehow I thought she would eventually triumph over her illness,鈥� he added. "I will miss her so much.鈥�
鈥淩BG鈥� director Julie Cohen tweeted that she was 鈥渞eflecting on the life of a woman who made an enormous contribution to the world of documentary. And the world generally.鈥�
Born in 1946 in Princeton, New Jersey, and raised in Bordentown and Long Beach Island with her three brothers, Reichert started finding her voice as a filmmaker at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, beginning her long residency in the state.
Her first film, 鈥淕rowing Up Female鈥� was a 49-minute student film made for $2,000 with then-partner Jim Klein that looked at the lives of six women, ages 4 through 35, and their socialization.
When they couldn鈥檛 find distribution, they founded their own company, New Day Films, which is still active to this day. In 2011, 鈥淕rowing Up Female鈥� was added to the Library of Congress鈥檚 National Film Registry and is considered the first feature documentary of the modern women鈥檚 liberation movement.
鈥淚 came of age in the 鈥�60s. Millions of us saw racism, saw U.S. domination around the world. Imperialism. Saw huge inequalities class wise. We said the system鈥檚 not working and we became, in some broad sense, revolutionaries,鈥� Reichert told the radio station WYSO last year. 鈥淣ot that we wanted to attack the White House but we really wanted to change society.鈥�
She and Bognar worked for eight years to make the 225-minute-long, Primetime Emmy Award-winning 鈥淎 Lion in the House," which looked at five families dealing with childhood cancer in Ohio.
鈥淎merican Factory鈥� put Reichert and Bognar in a different kind of spotlight when about an Ohio auto glass factory that had been purchased by a Chinese investor. It became the first project the Obamas backed with their
鈥淥ne of the many things I love about this film ... is that you let people tell their own story,鈥� the former first lady said in 2019. "鈥楢merican Factory鈥� doesn鈥檛 come in with a perspective. It鈥檚 not an editorial. I mean, you truly let people speak for themselves, and that is a powerful thing that you don鈥檛 always see happen.鈥�
More recently Reichert and Bognar directed 鈥�9to5: The Story of a Movement,鈥� about an organization that is trying to improve working conditions and maintain rights for women and families, and 鈥淒ave Chappelle: Live in Real Life," following the comedian's Yellow Springs shows in 2020 during the pandemic.
Throughout her career, Reichert made sure to pass on her wisdom to others, teaching film at Wright State University from 1985 through 2016 and writing a book about self-distribution called 鈥淒oing It Yourself.鈥�
Reichert had been diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in January 2006, while preparing to go to Sundance with 鈥淎 Lion in the House," but went into remission later that year.
The urothelial cancer, she knew, was incurable. In 2020, she told NPR's Terry Gross that now that she was coming to the end of her life, she was focusing on things she hadn't been able to do enough while making films, like spending time with her daughter and grandchildren.
Reichert is survived by Bognar, her daughter Lela Klein Holt and two grandchildren.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
