Julia Reichert Cause of Death

Julia Reichert, whose 50-year career as a documentary filmmaker included an Oscar win for American Factory in 2020,  died of urothelial cancer on December 1, 2022. She was 76 years old.

Reichert died Thursday night in her home in Yellow Springs, Ohio, surrounded by family, according to her partner and frequent filmmaking collaborator Steven Bognar.

Reichert, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-lymphoma Hodgkin’s in January 2006 and went into remission that year, was diagnosed with Stage 4 urothelial cancer in April 2018.

Despite having chemotherapy prior to her Oscar victory, she attended the 2020 Academy Awards and walked to the stage with Bognar to accept their award.

In January 2020, Reichert told THR that “there’s no cure” for her illness and “it could be six months, a year or more,” adding, “I’ll be real honest, [the Oscar] would be extremely meaningful after four nominations and my age and my state of life. It would be very meaningful.”

Reichert served on the Independent Feature Project’s advisory board after co-founding The Film Fund, a foundation that supported the creation of social issue media and led to the formation of the IFP.

Reichert is survived by her brothers, Louis, Craig, and Joseph Reichert; daughter Lela Klein; nephew Jeff Reichert, who co-produced American Factory; and grandchildren Beau Kleinholt and Dorothy Kleinholt, in addition to Bognar.