The subject matter of this short film will only be familiar to a niche audience, which does not diminish the value of sharing her unique life story, but may limit the film’s appeal. Indie filmmaker Julia Reichert headlines Juliet’s stepsshe passed away in 2022, before completing this autobiographical short film. Instead, her partner Steven Bognar finished her off. Reichert lived both an ordinary and an extraordinary life. Ordinary, because many women of her class and generation experienced similar upbringings and faced parallel obstacles – in fact, this is the subject of her first film, Growing up female.

Her life was remarkable as she actively fought against barriers of gender, class and race, first by joining the growing “women’s liberation movement” and then by becoming an independent director, producer and distributor dealing with social justice issues. This short film has intrinsic value as a first-person historical document and a companion piece to Reichert’s filmography. However, it’s disappointing that all we see of her in the present day is from behind, talking on the phone, even though we’re treated to plenty of photos of her younger self. It’s the only place where the 32-minute short feels incomplete. That’s assuming going to the place where her career begins was a conscious choice; if not, then the film’s incompleteness is part of the story.