Cultures Clash, Economic Realities Explored In New Documentary

WDCB’s Gary Zidek talks to filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert about their new documentary, AMERICAN FACTORY.

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WDCB's Gary Zidek talks to filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert about their new documentary, AMERICAN FACTOR.

“Any time you really wade into an unfolding situation as a documentarian, you try hard not to have a preconceived idea of what the film is going to be.” - AMERICAN FACTORY co-director Julia Reichert says she didn’t know what storylines would emerge when this project began.

Filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert

Presented by Chicago Media Project, the annual Doc10 Film Festival highlights the best in documentary film. Last year’s line-up featured five documentaries that were shortlisted for Academy Award nominations.

Among the intriguing films being screened at this year’s Doc10 is AMERICAN FACTORY. It comes from the Academy Award-nominated team of Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert. AMERICAN FACTORY offers a different take on globalization, capturing what happened when a Chinese billionaire opened a glass-making factory in a job-starved city that was once a center of U.S. industry. Bognar and Reichert spent three years filming inside the Dayton-based Fuyao glass factory. They came away with an evolving story that touches on the human aspects of the resulting culture clash that emerged at the new factory.

AMERICAN FACTORY will make its Chicago premiere at the Doc10 Film Festival on Saturday April 13 at the Davis Theater. Steven and Julia will be there for a post-screening Q-and-A. You can find more information about the festival at doc10.org.