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Staff photo by Teesha McClam
The premiere of HBO's "The Last Truck, " an Oscar-nominated documentary about the closing of the Moraine truck assembly plant, at the Schuster Center Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Staff photo by Lisa Powell
Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert of Yellow Springs have been nominated for an Academy Award. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Tuesday, Feb. 2, nominated “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” for best
documentary short.
Local GM documentary gets Oscar nomination
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By Dave Larsen,
Staff Writer
Updated 12:19 AM Wednesday, February 3, 2010
YELLOW SPRINGS — The Oscar nomination Tuesday for a local documentary about the closing of General Motors’ Moraine assembly plant is a big boost for Ohio’s independent filmmakers.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Tuesday, Feb. 2, nominated “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” for best documentary short.
Yellow Springs filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert “did this movie for very little money, and this is an incredible success for them and the Dayton community,” said Jeremy Henthorn, director of the Ohio Film Office.
Steven Bognar said he felt a “swirl of emotion” after learning that the documentary he produced and directed with Reichert was nominated for an Oscar.
“We feel really good and proud that the film turned out well, but … it’s a painful story that we’re telling, and the pain is real for the people in the film,” Bognar said.
Bognar and Reichert spent months following GM workers and Moraine residents as the community prepared for the Dec. 23, 2008, closing of GM’s assembly plant between Ohio 741 and Kettering Boulevard.
“It’s very bittersweet because people have lost their jobs and most of them haven’t gotten a job back,” said Reichert, a Wright State University film professor. Reichert has two previous Oscar nominations.
“The Last Truck” premiered Aug. 19 at the Schuster Center in Dayton. The 40-minute film was first aired on Labor Day, Sept. 7, on HBO.
Moraine City Manager David Hicks, a member of the local task force that formed in June 2008 to respond to the GM plant closing, said the nomination will bring more attention to the city’s situation.
“It’s good news that some people that are local products have developed something about our region that’s being recognized nationally,” Hicks said.
Steve Schoeny, director of strategic business investment at the Ohio Department of Development, said recognition for the film increases awareness of the availability of talent and facilities in the state.
“They tell the story in a great way that highlights the value of the people that are there,” Schoeny said.
Bognar and Reichert plan to attend the 82nd Annual Academy Awards ceremony March 7 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.
The couple won a prime-time Emmy Award for their 2006 documentary, “A Lion in
the House,” about children fighting cancer.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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No - I'm going to buy HBO to watch one movie.
2:12 PM, 2/6/2010
KUDOS 2 JULIE AND STEVE,COULDNT HAPPEN TO NICER
PEOPLE. I HOPE EVERYBODY SEES THIS FILM.
YOU DONT HAVE TO B IN LA OR NY TO B A SERIOUS FILMMAKER,THER'S GEMS RIGHT UP IN DAYTON & SURROUNDING AREA. WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY SHOULD BE PROUD OF THIS ACCOMPLISHMENT,BEING NOMINATED ITSELF IS AN AWARD,
12:19 PM, 2/3/2010
9:03 AM, 2/3/2010
8:13 AM, 2/3/2010
7:51 AM, 2/3/2010