Biography

Julia Reichert has been called a godmother of the US independent film movement and is a three time Oscar-nominee. Her film Growing Up Female was the first feature documentary of the modern Women's Movement. It was recently chosen for inclusion on the National Film Registry.

Her films Union Maids and Seeing Red (with Jim Klein) were both nominated for Academy Awards for Best Feature Documentary, as was The Last Truck, as a short. Her film A Lion in the House (with Steven Bognar) premiered at Sundance, screened nationally on PBS, was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award, and won the Primetime Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking. She co-wrote and directed the feature film Emma and Elvis, produced the feature The Dream Catcher directed by Ed Radtke.

Her film Sparkle (with Steven Bognar) won the Audience Award for Best Short at Silverdocs 2012, and was broadcast nationally on PBS.

She delved into the world of web-based interactive projects, co-creating an interactive non-fiction site, Reinvention Stories, about how citizens of Dayton, Ohio, are recovering from the economic downturn.

Raises Not Roses: The Story of the 9to5 Movement is a film about 9to5, an organization that brought rights, respect and raises to white collar workers. 9to5 is a little known intersection of the women's movement and the labor movement. It brought awareness of ideas such as the glass ceiling, sexual harassment, equal pay for equal work and the Family Medical Leave Act.

Julia is co-founder of New Day Films, the social issue film distribution co-op, which is now 42 years old. She is author of "Doing It Yourself," the first book on self-distribution in independent film, and articles for The Independent, a publication of AIVF. Reichert is Professor Emeritus of Motion Pictures at Wright State University in Ohio, a graduate of Antioch College, a mother, and a grandma.

She is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and a member of the advisory board of the Independent Feature Project.

Julia is the 2018 recipient of International Documentary Associations Career Achievement Award.
- IMDb mini biography by: Julia Reichert

Ohio-based Julia Reichert is a four-time Academy Award-nominee and Oscar-winner for her documentary work, which often explores class, gender and race. Julia's student film Growing Up Female was the first feature documentary of the modern Women's Movement, and was selected for the National Film Registry. Her films Union Maids and Seeing Red: Stories of American Communists, (with Jim Klein) were nominated for Academy Awards for Best Feature Documentary, as was The Last Truck (made with Steven Bognar), as a Short. Her film A Lion in the House (also with Bognar) premiered at Sundance and won the Primetime Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking. The couple won the 2020 Academy Award for American Factory.

Reichert & Bognar's newest film, 9to5: The Story of a Movement (2020), an official selection of the SXSW, AFI Docs, IDFA, Full Frame and DOC NYC film festivals, premieres February 1, 2021 on Independent Lens.

Julia is co-founder of New Day Films, the independent film distribution co-op. She was an advisor on the creation of the IFP and the PBS series P.O.V, and is co-founder of Indie Caucus. She mentored dozens of emerging filmmakers over the years as a Professor of Motion Pictures at Wright State University. Reichert is also the author of Doing It Yourself, the first book on self-distribution in independent film. She is a member of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the Television Academy. In 2018, the International Documentary Association (IDA) gave Julia their Career Achievement Award. In 2019, the Museum of Modern Art and the Wexner Center for the Arts teamed up to present a traveling retrospective of Julia's films. She is also a proud mom and grandma.
- IMDb mini biography by: Julia Reichert