Director’s retrospective to have local premiere at Neon
The work was first shown at the Museum of Modern Art in May 2019.
A retrospective of Academy and Emmy Award-winning documentarian Julia Reichert titled “Julia Reichert: 50 Years in Film” will begin Sunday, Nov. 21, at the Neon.
Curated and organized by the Wexner Center for the Arts, the retrospective, which premiered in May 2019 at the Museum of Modern Art, is a traveling celebration of the Yellow Springs filmmaker’s decades of work. The film series also traveled to Los Angeles, Houston, Minneapolis, Portland, Cleveland and Louisville among other cities before the coronavirus shutdowns.
“I’m deeply grateful to the Neon’s manager, Jonathan McNeal, for bringing this retrospective home,” said Reichert in a release. “It means so much to me to share these films again with Dayton audiences, many who weren’t even born yet when these films came out. New and beautiful 4K restorations of the four films I made with Jim Klein will play on the Neon’s screens, and they look amazing.”
“For 50 years, my professor, mentor and dear friend Julia Reichert has been telling powerful and engaging cinematic stories,” said McNeal in a release. “These important films still resonate, and we’re thrilled to finally be able to present this incredible collection of work back on the big screen.”
On Nov. 21, Reichert, who taught film at Wright State University for 28 years and has battled significant health challenges, will discuss her career and origins. The event will also include a screening of “Growing Up Female,” Reichert and Klein’s groundbreaking 1971 documentary detailing how girls and women are socialized. This film, Reichert’s senior project at Antioch College, was selected in 2011 by the Library of Congress for
the National Film Registry of historically significant films.
The 2021 events in the retrospective are:
Sunday, Nov. 21 at 4 p.m.: Julia Reichert Artist Talk and “Growing Up Female” (1971)
Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.: “Union Maids” (1976) and “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” (2009)
Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.: “Seeing Red: Stories of American Communists” (1984)
Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m.: Julia’s Hidden Gems and
Deep Cuts: Four shorter documentaries from Reichert’s body of work: “Methadone — An American Way of Dealing” (1974), “Sparkle” (2012), “Making Morning Star” (2014) and “No Guns for Christmas” (2014)
Reichert’s retrospective will continue in 2022 with films and dates to be announced.
Tickets are $10 for each screening and available on the Neon’s website or at the Neon box office.
The Neon is located at 130 E. Fifth St., Dayton.