Julia Reichert, the Oscar-winning co-director of “American Factory” and a longtime fixture of American documentary since the 1970s, has died at 76 after battling cancer.
A champion of women’s rights and the working class whose films were ahead of their time in their intersectional exploration of class, gender, and race in America, Reichert was also a trailblazing leader and passionate advocate for the documentary community.
Born in New Jersey to a working-class family, Reichert started as a social activist and never intended to be a documentary filmmaker. “That was a job overwhelmingly for the wealthy,” said Jim Klein, Reichert’s partner from the 1960s to the 1980s and co-director of her early films. “We were social activists rather than filmmakers, doing it by the seat of our pants.”
Their first film, “Growing Up Female,” was completed 50 years ago with a budget of 2,000. It was one of the first documentaries chronicling the modern women’s movement.
A champion of women’s rights and the working class whose films were ahead of their time in their intersectional exploration of class, gender, and race in America, Reichert was also a trailblazing leader and passionate advocate for the documentary community.
Born in New Jersey to a working-class family, Reichert started as a social activist and never intended to be a documentary filmmaker. “That was a job overwhelmingly for the wealthy,” said Jim Klein, Reichert’s partner from the 1960s to the 1980s and co-director of her early films. “We were social activists rather than filmmakers, doing it by the seat of our pants.”
Their first film, “Growing Up Female,” was completed 50 years ago with a budget of 2,000. It was one of the first documentaries chronicling the modern women’s movement.
- 12/2/2022
- by Anthony Kaufman
- Indiewire
Chicago – The 56th Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff) is virtual and online Right Now, so go download some movies! This is your last chance for Industry Days (through October 18th), where you can rub virtual elbows with some of the movers and shakers in the film industry here in Chicago.
..and nationally/internationally. All the information to “sit in” on the events is available by clicking here.
The 56th Chicago International Film Festival Celebrates The Weekend. On Saturday, October 17th, the Drive In is showing “Ammonite” (click here). On Sunday, October 18th, the Drive in showing “The Road Up” (click here).
Appearances Of The Day:
Friday, October 16th 7:00pm: “For Madmen Only” … Livestream Q&a with actor James Urbaniak and director Heather Ross. Suggested streaming start time, 5:20pm. 9:00pm: “Finding Yingying” … Livestream Q&a with director Jiayan “Jenny” Shi, producer Brent E. Huffman and cinematographer Shilin Sun.
..and nationally/internationally. All the information to “sit in” on the events is available by clicking here.
The 56th Chicago International Film Festival Celebrates The Weekend. On Saturday, October 17th, the Drive In is showing “Ammonite” (click here). On Sunday, October 18th, the Drive in showing “The Road Up” (click here).
Appearances Of The Day:
Friday, October 16th 7:00pm: “For Madmen Only” … Livestream Q&a with actor James Urbaniak and director Heather Ross. Suggested streaming start time, 5:20pm. 9:00pm: “Finding Yingying” … Livestream Q&a with director Jiayan “Jenny” Shi, producer Brent E. Huffman and cinematographer Shilin Sun.
- 10/16/2020
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Read More: Here's Why This Filmmaker Risked His Life to Film at This Ancient Buddhist City Kartemquin Films will make director Brent E. Huffman's documentary, "Saving Mes Aynak," available for free to the people of Afghanistan, the Chicago-based not-for-profit documentary collective announced. The filmmakers are offering the free stream, hosted by the digital platform Vhx, to anyone within Afghanistan who registers at www.savingmesaynak.com before midnight on July 1, which they have declared Global #SaveMesAynak Day. Releasing a documentary for free in the country where it was filmed is not without precedent. In 2013, Drafthouse Films made Joshua Oppenheimer's "The Act of Killing" available for free to the people of Indonesia. Read More: How Steve James Finds Silver Linings When Things Don't Go As Planned (And They Never Do) Kartemquin is currently offering streams, downloads, DVD/Blu-Rays and public screenings of "Saving Mes...
- 6/24/2015
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
The award-winning documentary Saving Mes Aynak was a hit at Idfa 2014 and Full Frame 2015, but more than just a documentary it's also harnessing an activist campaign to save this ancient site. Read More: The Best Documentary Filmmaking Advice from Full Frame Documentary Festival The film follows archaeologist Qadir Temori as he races against time to save this 5,000-year-old Buddhist archeological site in Afghanistan from imminent demolition. It's endangered not only by religious fundamentalists, but by a Chinese mining company chasing corporate profits. In traveling to the region on his own many times, "Saving Mes Aynak" director Brent E. Huffman risked his life at the hands of landlines and Taliban fighters. "It felt like my duty, my obligation, to tell this story and to spread the story about the imminent destruction of this incredible site," said Huffman in a video on Indiegogo. Through a non-traditional independent distribution release...
- 6/10/2015
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
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