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

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 Ohio town where the theater is a downtown fixture. The co-director of 2020's “American Factory,” Bognar advocates for small independent theaters everywhere as they struggle to survive the transition to streaming. His eight-minute video landed the theater its grant. It used a series of classic movie titles flashed onto the theater's marquee and interviews with locals to illustrate Little Art's importance to the community and society.