How an Oscar-winning filmmaker helped a small-town art theater in Ohio land a big grant

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio (AP) — When the Little Art Theatre set out to land a $100,000 grant to fund a stylish new marquee, with a nod to its century-long history, the cozy Ohio arthouse theater had some talented help.

Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Steve Bognar is a resident of Yellow Springs, the bohemian college town between Columbus and Cincinnati where the theater is a downtown fixture. Besides being one of Little Art’s biggest fans, Bognar is an advocate for small independent theaters everywhere as they struggle to survive in an industry now dominated by home streaming.

The eight-minute video Bognar directed and filmed for the theater’s grant application set out to illustrate just what its loss could mean to people, communities — even society as a whole.

“The fact that this movie theater is smack in the middle of town, it’s like the heart of our little town,” he said in a recent interview.

Bognar, who with the late Julia Reichert won an Oscar in 2020 for the feature documentary “American Factory,” began the video with some 100 different classic film titles flashing past on the Little Art Theatre's current marquee. He then folded in interviews with local residents, who reminisced about their favorite movies and moviegoing experiences.

It wasn’t lost on the documentarian that such communal experiences are becoming increasingly rare, as rising home and charter school enrollments fragment school populations, in-person church attendance falls and everything from shopping to dining to dating moves more and more online.

“If there was one overall theme that emerged, or a kind of guiding idea that emerged, it was that a cinema, a small-town movie theater, is like a community hub,” Bognar said. “It’s where we come together to experience collectively, like a work of art or a community event or a local filmmaker showing their work.”

Among other events Little Art has hosted over its 95-year history are the Dayton Jewish Film Festival, the 365 project for Juneteenth and a Q&A with survivors from Hiroshima.

Bognar's video did its job. Little Art won the grant, the first Theater of Dreams award from the streaming media company Plex. The company is using its grant program to celebrate other independent entertainment entities, as a poll it conducted last summer with OnePoll found two-thirds of respondents believed independent movie theater closures would be a huge loss to society.

“That collective experience of sitting in the dark and just kind of feeling, going through some story and feeling it together is beautiful," Bognar said. “We don’t do that enough now. We are so often isolated these days. We stare at our screens individually. We watch movies individually. It’s sad.”

He believes that people share energy when they're watching the same movie together, adding a sensory dimension to the experience.

“We feel more attuned because we’re surrounded by other human beings going through the same story,” he said. “And that’s what a theater can do.”

The theater plans to use the grant to replace Little Art's boxy modern marquee with the snappier art deco design that hung over its ticket booth in an earlier era. The theater opened in 1929.

“We found an old photo of our marquee from the 1940s, early ’50s, and that was when it all came together,” said Katherine Eckstrand, the theater's development and community impact director. "And we said, that’s it — it's the marquee. We want to go back to our past to bring us into our future. So that’s where it started.”

Bognar, 60, said it's the very theater where he was inspired as a youngster to become a filmmaker.

“Some of my deepest, fondest story experiences in my whole life have happened right here in this theater, where I’ve been swept away by a great work of cinema,” he said. “And that’s what I aspire to create for audiences, you know. It’s incredibly hard to do to get to that level, but I love swimming toward that shore.”

Moviegoers line up to purchase tickets for the 7 p.m. showing of Raising Arizona at the Littel Art Theatre on Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. When the Little Art Theatre set out to land a $100,000 grant to fund a stylish new marquee, the cozy arthouse theater had some talented help. Oscar-winning documentarian Steve Bognar lives in Yellow Springs, the bohemian Ohio town where the theater's a downtown fixture. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Moviegoers look to the screen during the 7 p.m. showing of Raising Arizona at the Littel Art Theatre on Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. When the Little Art Theatre set out to land a $100,000 grant to fund a stylish new marquee, the cozy arthouse theater had some talented help. Oscar-winning documentarian Steve Bognar lives in Yellow Springs, the bohemian Ohio town where the theater's a downtown fixture. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Wendy Clark, second from right, and her son Solomon Shemano, right, visit with Craig Mesure, left, as they leave the theatre after the 7 p.m. showing of Raising Arizona at the Littel Art Theatre on Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. When the Little Art Theatre set out to land a $100,000 grant to fund a stylish new marquee, the cozy arthouse theater had some talented help. Oscar-winning documentarian Steve Bognar lives in Yellow Springs, the bohemian Ohio town where the theater's a downtown fixture. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Steve Bognar, Oscar-winning documentarian, is photographed at the Little Art Theatre in Yellow Springs, Ohio, on Monday, April 29, 2024. When the Little Art When the Little Art Theatre set out to land a $100,000 grant to fund a stylish new marquee, the cozy arthouse theater had some talented help. Bognar lives in Yellow Springs, the bohemian Ohio town where the theater's a downtown fixture. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Popcorn pops for the 7 p.m. showing of Raising Arizona at the Littel Art Theatre on Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A ticket and change for the 7 p.m. showing of Raising Arizona is handed out of the ticket booth at the Littel Art Theatre on Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. When the Little Art Theatre set out to land a $100,000 grant to fund a stylish new marquee, the cozy arthouse theater had some talented help. Oscar-winning documentarian Steve Bognar lives in Yellow Springs, the bohemian Ohio town where the theater's a downtown fixture. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Hot buttered popcorn is tasted before the 7 p.m. showing of Raising Arizona at the Littel Art Theatre on Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. When the Littel Art Theatre set out to land a $100,000 grant to fund a stylish new marquee, with a nod to its century-long history, the cozy Ohio arthouse theater had some talented help. Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Steve Bognar is a resident of Yellow Springs,where the theater is a downtown fixture. Besides being one of Little Art’s biggest fans, Bognar is an advocate for small independent theaters everywhere, as they struggle to survive in an industry now dominated by home streaming. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Popcorn pops for the 7 p.m. showing of Raising Arizona at the Littel Art Theatre on Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. When the Little Art Theatre set out to land a $100,000 grant to fund a stylish new marquee, the cozy arthouse theater had some talented help. Oscar-winning documentarian Steve Bognar lives in Yellow Springs, the bohemian Ohio town where the theater's a downtown fixture. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Coming attractions are previewed before the 7 p.m. showing of Raising Arizona at the Littel Art Theatre on Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. When the Little Art Theatre set out to land a $100,000 grant to fund a stylish new marquee, the cozy arthouse theater had some talented help. Oscar-winning documentarian Steve Bognar lives in Yellow Springs, the bohemian Ohio town where the theater's a downtown fixture. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The Littel Art Theatre is seen after the 7 p.m. showing of Raising Arizona on Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. When the Little Art Theatre set out to land a $100,000 grant to fund a stylish new marquee, the cozy arthouse theater had some talented help. Oscar-winning documentarian Steve Bognar lives in Yellow Springs, the bohemian Ohio town where the theater's a downtown fixture. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A return home helped Las Vegas stave off elimination by New York and look like the team that has won consecutive WNBA championships, while Connecticut couldn't stop Minnesota and take advantage of their homecourt.

Both the Aces and Sun now will try to avoid seeing their seasons end on Sunday when they host Game 4 of their semifinal series.

Las Vegas beat New York 95-81 on Friday night in Game 3 of the best-of-five semifinal series. The Aces still trail 2-1. Connecticut got down early and never really was able to get close to Minnesota, falling 90-81. The Sun are also down 2-1.

The Liberty entered their matchup having gone 5-0 against Las Vegas this year, including 2-0 in the postseason. But like in last year's WNBA Finals when a short-handed Aces team won the title on New York's floor, the Liberty know eliminating the champions is not that simple.

“We have to keep our heads up because Game 4 is coming very, very quickly,” Liberty star Breanna Stewart said. “But we need to learn quickly as well and be ready for the next game because it's not going to get any easier from here. This is the playoffs.”

The Liberty can expect another hostile atmosphere, and the Aces fed off their crowd to help stay alive.

But, more importantly, Las Vegas turned up the defensive intensity, outscoring the Liberty 42-28 in the lane and holding Sabrina Ionescu — who entered the game averaging 24.5 points — to four points on 1-of-7 shooting.

Aces coach Becky Hammon credited Kelsey Plum for helping devise the game plan that helped limit Ionescu. But the Aces know the Liberty will make their own adjustments, and how Game 4 plays out could be considerably different than Game 3.

But, for the Aces' sake, at least there's another game to play.

“The minute you get comfortable, that's when you get exposed,” Las Vegas point guard Chelsea Gray said. “We executed this game, we executed for four quarters, and so we start all over again Sunday. We're still down 2-1. We haven't done anything.”

Like Las Vegas, Connecticut will have the home crowd support, but needs to play better on the defensive end. The Sun allowed Minnesota to shoot 57% from the field and didn’t pose much of a challenge on the defensive end.

“We didn’t come to compete. It didn’t matter what we were in defensively,” Sun forward Alyssa Thomas said. “We got to look in the mirror and want it. If we’re not going to come out there and compete this is the result.”

Connecticut has been to the Finals twice since Minnesota’s run, the last time coming in 2022. The Sun lost both times.

“We’re playing for an opportunity to play in the WNBA Finals,” Connecticut coach Stephanie White said. “Our back is against the wall and we know that we have to be better.”

The Lynx know closing out the Sun on the road won't be easy.

“Obviously it’s a hard thing to do. And we have to be a lot better in the areas that we really need to play against,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said of finishing off the series on Sunday.

The Lynx will try and reach the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2017. That year the team won the fourth of its championships in a seven-year span.

Doug Feinberg contributed to this story from Uncasville, Connecticut.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington (21) shoots over Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) during the second half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Connecticut Sun forward Brionna Jones (42) looks to shoot as Minnesota Lynx forward Dorka Juhasz (14) defends during the second half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) drives the ball around New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich (13) during a WNBA basketball semifinal game Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) shoots the ball near New York Liberty's Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (44) and Leonie Fiebich (13) during a WNBA basketball semifinal game, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) smiles at forward Alanna Smith (8) during the second half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game against the Connecticut Sun, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)