\u201cThis is a homegrown movie made by a homegrown team,\u201d Bognar told the audience at the Dayton premiere of \u201cAmerican Factory<\/a>\u201d at the Victoria Theater on Aug. 19. Bognar gave special thanks to the Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures, saying it has spawned \u201cmany talented young filmmakers.\u201d<\/p>\n Professor emeritus Julia Reichert and former motion pictures faculty member Steven Bognar accepting their Oscar for \u201cAmerican Factory.” (Photo courtesy of oscar.go.com)<\/p><\/div>\n The documentary was produced by Higher Ground, Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, and is available to stream on Netflix.<\/p>\n Obama congratulated the filmmakers on their Oscar:<\/p>\n Congrats to Julia and Steven, the filmmakers behind American Factory, for telling such a complex, moving story about the very human consequences of wrenching economic change. Glad to see two talented and downright good people take home the Oscar for Higher Ground\u2019s first release. https:\/\/t.co\/W4AZ68iWoY<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 10, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n “American Factory” also received the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary; the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature; Outstanding Achievement in both Directing and Nonfiction Filmmaking by Cinema Eye Honors; and the Best Directing Award for U.S. Documentary at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.<\/p>\n This was the second year in a row the Wright State Motion Pictures Program celebrated during the Oscars. Hannah Beachler, who graduated from Wright State in 2005, received the Academy Award for Best Production Design<\/a> in 2019 for her work on “Black Panther.”<\/p>\n Reichert and Bognar documented the final days of the General Motors truck plant before it was shuttered in their 2010 HBO film \u201cThe Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant.\u201d It was nominated for an Academy Award for best short subject documentary.<\/p>\n Reichert and Bognar\u2019s film \u201cA Lion in the House\u201d won the Primetime Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking as well as the Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film and Digital Media.<\/p>\n For 28 years, Reichert was a professor of film production at Wright State. She has mentored filmmakers from around the country and is co-founder of Indie Caucus, the action group working to keep the documentary form alive and well on PBS. Reichert received Academy Award nominations for \u201cUnion Maids\u201d (1977), \u201cSeeing Red\u201d (1984) and \u201cThe Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant\u201d (2010).<\/p>\n Bognar is a former Wright State faculty member and a 1986 graduate of the Wright State Motion Pictures program<\/a>.<\/p>\n Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert while making \u201cAmerican Factory.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cAmerican Factory\u201d was developed when Reichert and Bognar served as faculty members at Wright State and involved numerous university faculty members, staff, students and alumni. Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/files\/2020\/02\/american-factory-oscar-508x292.jpg\")
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