9to5: The Story of a Movement

Premiered February 01, 2021
Directed by Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar

They couldn’t kill their bosses, so they did the next best thing — they organized.

About the Documentary

They couldn’t kill their bosses, so they did the next best thing  — they organized. When Dolly Parton sang “9 to 5,” she was doing more than just shining a light on the fate of American working women. Parton was singing the true story of a movement that started with 9to5, a group of Boston secretaries in the early 1970s. Their goals were simple—better pay, more advancement opportunities and an end to sexual harassment—but their unconventional approach attracted the press and shamed their bosses into change. Featuring interviews with 9to5’s founders, as well as actor and activist Jane Fonda, 9to5: The Story of a Movement is the previously untold story of the fight that inspired a hit and changed the American workplace.

The Filmmakers

Julia Reichert

Ohio-based Julia Reichert is a four-time Academy Award nominee and Oscar winner for her documentary work. Julia’s student film at Antioch College, Growing Up Female was the first feature documentary of the modern Women’s Movement. It was selected for the National Film Registry. Her film A Lion in the House (made with Steven Bognar) premiered at Sundance, screened nationally on PBS, won the Primetime Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking. Reichert and Bognar won the 2020 Academy Award for Best Documentary for American Factory.

Steven Bognar

Steven Bognar is an Oscar and Emmy award winning documentary filmmaker based in Ohio. With his partner Julia Reichert, he has directed and produced American Factory, The Last Truck, and A Lion in the House,. Their films have screened at top film festivals, and on HBO, PBS and Netflix. Bognar’s first feature documentary, ,Personal Belongings, which he produced, directed & edited, premiered at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival and broadcast on POV.

Documentaries Available to Watch Now

Documentaries Coming Soon

Awards

Alexandria Film Festival

Best of Fest Award

St. Louis International Film Festival

St. Louis Film Critics' Joe Williams' Award for Best Documentary

Key West Film Festival

Best Women’s Film

Learn More About the Documentary

Headshot of filmmaker Julia Reichert, a smiling woman with light skin tone, short hair and glasses.
Announcements

Remembering Legendary Oscar and Emmy-Winning Director Julia Reichert
Black and white photograph of Dolly Parton from the '70s looking off camera to the right.
Beyond the Films

Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” Still Packs a Punch
Illustration of two women — one with dark skin tone, one with light skin tone — working in an office and wearing 1970s fashions.
Beyond the Films

Working Women’s Wardrobe: How the 1970s Opened Feminist Fashion
Black and white photograph of a large group of women protesting at a rally for equal pay.
Interviews

The Story of 9to5: A Movement that Changed the American Workplace

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