A Yellow Springs couple has grabbed the first major prize on the road to the Academy Awards.
>> The story behind ‘American Factory’ with Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar
“American Factory,” directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, received The Independent Filmmaker Project’s prestigious Gotham Award in the best documentary category earlier this week.
“American Factory” follows the creation of the Chinese-owned automotive glass-factory Fuyao Glass America in the same building that had once housed a General Motors assembly operation in Moraine.
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Bognar and Reichert, a couple for more than 30 years, received an Academy Award nomination in the “Best Documentary (short subject)” category for their 2009 HBO film “The Last Truck” about the closing of that very same GM plant in Moraine.
President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, in partnership with Netflix, acquired the film in April.
>> Yellow Springs filmmaker receives prestigious international award
It was released on Netflix and in theaters in August.
The Gotham Award “honors the filmmaking community, expands the audience for independent films, and supports the work that IFP does behind the scenes throughout the year to bring such films to fruition,” according to an IFP press release.
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