Julia Reichert: The People, United

Julia Reichert, the Academy Award–winning documentarian who spent over 50 years chronicling working people in the United States, passed away in December 2022 at the age of 76. A heroic advocate for the labor movement, Reichert took the stage at the Oscars and declared, “We believe things will get better when workers of the world unite.” She dedicated her career to stories that explore class, gender, and race in America, and permanently altered the trajectory of documentary film to help bring activist politics into the mainstream.

This series features selections and updates from Julia Reichert: 50 Years in Film, which was organized by the Wexner Center for the Arts and was first presented at MoMA in May 2019. Highlights include an evening honoring Julia’s life and work; the completed version of 9to5: Story of a Movement, which was previously screened at MoMA as a work in progress; and three more films that are representative of her life as a singular activist, artist, and community builder.

Organized by Carson Parish, Associate Producer, and Olivia Priedite, Film Program Coordinator, Department of Film. This program is drawn from Julia Reichert: 50 Years in Film (2019), organized by Dave Filipi, Director, Film/Video, Wexner Center for the Arts, with Rajendra Roy, The Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film.

Film at MoMA is made possible by CHANEL.

Additional support is provided by the Annual Film Fund. Leadership support for the Annual Film Fund is provided by Debra and Leon D. Black, with major contributions from The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder, the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art, and Karen and Gary Winnick.