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SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS WHO SUPPORT LOCAL JOUNRALISM Or become an advertiser yourself! Email advert@ysnews.com or call 937- 767- 7373. YELLOW SPRINGS NEWS ysnews.com GU I D E to Y E L L OW S P R I NG S | 2O22 – 2O23 59 siderable challenges. At first she felt out of place, as her classmates all seemed to have fathers who were engineers or doctors or lawyers. Initially she felt shame over her working-class background, she said, telling others at a freshmen gathering that she was the daughter of a grocery store manager rather than a butcher. But as she learned in classes about the critical role of the working class in bring - ing about historical change, she began to reclaim pride in her background. And through consciousness- raising groups, as she and other young women shared their stories, Reichert became far more aware of the cultural and structural obstacles faced by women. “You realized that it wasn’t just you who didn’t raise her hand in class. It wasn’t just you who didn’t dream big,” she said. “You realized it wasn’t just you — it was the system.” These discoveries led to Reichert’s first film, “Grow - ing Up Female.” She needed a senior project for the filmmaking class she was taking, having found that her interests in photography and radio dovetailed perfectly into making films. She’d also been inspired by seeing experimen- tal films on campus, and by the young film teacher, only 24 himself, who encouraged his students to get started. “He said, ‘Just pick up a camera and shoot.’ He was all about self-expression,” she said. She did so, often collabo - rating with a fellow film class student Jim Klein. For her senior project, Reichert and Klein decided to interview five women of various ages about their lives, and the forces that shaped them, including advertising, music, role models and marriage. It was a simple idea, she said, with a focus on human experience rather than abstract ideas. “It wasn’t a film about the women’s movement,” she said. “It was just probing these women, asking them how they felt.” After completing the film, Reichert and Klein wanted to get it out into the world, but they didn’t want to go the traditional route, which was hiring a distributor. That route would mean both losing money and losing control of the film. So they decided to do it themselves. According to Reichert, they learned to operate an offset press and made their own posters to advertise. When the orders rolled in — and they did roll in — the two went to the local post office to send off copies of the 16-mm film. Then they went back to the post office to collect the checks that followed. So many checks came in that the two realized they needed a bank account rather than simply cashing their checks at Weaver’s (now Tom’s) Market. Still, Reichert and Klein, who had since become a couple, graduated, moved to Dayton and continued doing media work, didn’t think of themselves as professional filmmakers. Rather, they thought of themselves as activists. “Growing Up Female” did get out into the world, and went on to become a classic in the women’s movement. In 2011 it was selected for the National Film Registry, an arm of the Library of Congress that selects 25 films per year “showcasing the range and diversity of American film heritage,” according to the organization’s website. Their success at film dis - tribution led the couple to launch a new endeavor, a co- operative for the distribution of films by and about women. That co-operative, New Day Films, has grown and thrived for 45 years, now with more than 100 members. FILM SUCCESS Next, in 1974, Reichert and Klein made “Methadone: An American Way of Dealing,” about how this country deals with heroin addiction, based on interviews with those involved in a Dayton metha- done clinic. A focus on marginalized people continued in the next two films by Reichert and Klein, “Union Maids” and “Seeing Red: Stories of Ameri- can Communists.” Most surprising was the success of “Union Maids,” the true stories of three women involved in the fight to form industrial unions. Reichert and Klein spent only three days in Chicago interviewing and film - ing the women, doing most of the camera work themselves. The low-budget ($12,500) film was black and white and only 48 minutes long. Still, it earned a review in the New York Times and, amazingly to its creators, a nomination for an Academy Award. “It was a huge hit in the women’s, socialist and labor movements,” Reichert said. “It was crazy. It must have been the least expensive film ever nominated for an Academy Award.” That surprising success continued with “Seeing Red,” sparked by the couple’s “Union Maid” contacts and growing awareness of the link between the early labor movement and the American Communist Party. The film took six years to complete, including interviews with 400 people in San Francisco, Chicago and New York. Many were reluctant to speak due to their fears of backlash against Communists, accord - ing to Reichert, but the couple gained trust because of their prior work in “Union Maids.” With a $250,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, this film was in color, BRYCE HILL INC. brycehill . com See US oN FAcebooK! 937-325-0651 2301Sheridan Ave. Springfield, OH Mon–Fri: 7:30–5 • Sat: 8–Noon LANDSCAPE MATERIALS • Concrete Pavers • Clay Pavers • Concrete Retaining Walls • Paving Stone • Natural Stone 232 Xenia Ave. YSO • 937-767-2091 www.Epic-Bookshop.com New & used books on most subjects Specializing in the Spiritual, the Mystical & the Meditative est. 1974 Open weekdays 12-6 Sat. 10-6 Sun. 12-6 CLOSED WED .