Throughout May, Steve Bognar and Anna Lavatelli will host a series of documentary films on Thursday evenings. (Photo by Lauren "Chuck" Shows)
Filmmakers to host activism series
- Published: April 26, 2026
Little Art Theatre recently announced a series of films from its current artists-in-residence for May, with Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Steven Bognar and artist-filmmaker Anna Chiaretta Lavatelli.
Each Thursday evening throughout May, Bognar and Lavatelli will host a series of documentaries geared towards political activism, kicking off with a screening of “9to5: The Story of a Movement,” to celebrate May Day on Friday, May 1, at 5 p.m. This will be the first public screening of the film — co-directed by Steven Bognar and the late Julia Reichert — in Yellow Springs.
Although the film screened at festivals before its national PBS release, due to the 2020 pandemic shutdown it was not screened beyond those few festivals.
The May series will continue on Thursdays with films that “deepen the conversation around organizing, sharing recent films that dive into the inner workings of key events of the past and recent present in an effort to bring together a multifaceted look at organizing, protest and resistance,” according to a press release.
The month’s successive films include “WTO/99,” “Yanuni,” “Deaf President Now!” and “The Infiltrators.”
Each screening will feature a post-film conversation with audience participation, offering an intimate look into the craft, impact and social resonance of each film. Bognar and Lavatelli have curated a selection of documentary films that “excite us cinematically but also give us hope and strategy in the fight for a more fair, just and caring world,” the release stated.
Looking ahead, Little Art Theatre will expand its residency offerings with a new student-in-residence program throughout the rest of 2026. This initiative will provide emerging filmmakers with access to the theater’s historic space as a site for experimentation, learning and public engagement.
Tickets and full program details will be announced on http://www.littleart.com and through the theater’s newsletter.
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