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60 GU I D E to Y E L L OW S P R I NG S | 2O22 – 2O23 and there was money enough to hire more help. Again, to the couple’s sur - prise, it was nominated for an Academy Award. At about this time, according to Reichert, the couple began calling themselves filmmakers. And while their films found success, there were the chal - lenges and demands of making a living and a personal life. Reichert and Klein by now had a young daughter, Lela, and were teaching filmmaking full time at Wright State University. While their marriage dissolved a few years later, the two continued team-teaching and working on each other’s films. Reichert’s work continued with “A Lion in the House,” a 2006 film made with Steven Bognar. The film follows five children with pediatric cancer and their families, along with doctors and nurses at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. It won a Primetime Emmy for Excep - tional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking in 2007, and was a nominee for Best Feature Documentary at the Inde - pendent Spirit awards. In 2009, Reichert and Bognar finished “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant.” And their work continued in the 18-minute “Sparkle,” about the Dayton Contempo- rary Dance Company dancer Sheri Williams, and the 2016 “Making Morning Star,” about the Cincinnati Opera and the “joys and challenges of devel - oping a new American opera,” according to a press state- ment from the Wexner Center for the Arts, which launched a retrospective of Reichert’s work in 2019. In 2020, Reichert and Bognar directed and produced “9to5: The Story of a Move - ment. The film outlines the history of the 1970s “9to5” movement, created by Ameri - can working women to push for better pay, more opportu - nities and an end to harass - ment; the movement inspired the well-known film “9 to 5” starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton. The documentary film was picked up for distribution by PBS, and was screened as part of its “Independent Lens” series. To Reichert’s daughter, Lela Klein, of Dayton, her mother not only shines a spotlight on women’s challenges, but also has lived those challenges and prevailed. “I’m really proud that my mom is being honored in this way and especially to see her recognized as a leader in her field, a field that was, until recently, utterly dominated by men,” Klein wrote in an email to the News. “For her to be a working mom in that commu - nity was never easy. My mom has always been really inten- tional about mentoring and supporting other women and as a consequence, I got to be raised by amazing and creative women. What a blessing.” As her work continued, Reichert faced a new chal- lenge, that of battling cancer. First diagnosed with lym- phoma in 2006, Reichert had treatment and was in remis- sion until early 2018, when cancer re-emerged. “Cancer has had a big impact,” Reichert told the News, regarding her work. She didn’t stop working, and took on as much responsibility as she could. “There were times I was on conference calls while lying down and getting chemo in the hospital,” she said. But there were also days she couldn’t work at all, and she gave credit to her team, especially Bognar, for both caring for her and continuing to move the film forward. “I’m lucky to have an amaz - ing partner, who seems able to carry any load thrown at him,” she said regarding Bognar. “And I couldn’t have done it if I didn’t have such a good team.” ♦

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