By Margaret A. McGurk
The Cincinnati Enquirer

When the call came from the Sundance Film Festival telling Steven Bognar that his short film Gravel had been selected for the January 2003 event, the Dayton-based filmmaker and his partner Julia Reichert realized they had a mixed blessing on their hands.

The two had recently arrived in New York City ready for several weeks of intense editing work on their documentary A Lion in the House, which follows five patients at Cincinnati's Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Then came the call that independent filmmakers dream about, one the two had received first in 1995 with Personal Belongings and again for the 2000 fest with the short Picture Day, both directed by Mr. Bognar and produced by Ms. Reichert.

"It was great news," Ms. Reichert said, "But that suddenly means kind of reorienting ourselves toward finishing Gravel instead of really focusing on the documentary.

"For Sundance (beginning Jan. 16 in Park City, Utah), you have so many days to book a condo, book flights, get your posters together, get postcards to hand out, and we still have work to do on the film. They want the print by Dec. 31 and we're not really finished. The sound mix is not done, a few other things."

Gravel, a 15-minute fictional work, was shot in Dayton, Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, including areas near the Western Hills Viaduct.

"Gravel is all about these little moments we know happen in reality when the social construct cracks and we say something that actually reveals what we feel," said Ms. Reichert. "This whole film builds to a little moment like that, between a mother and a daughter.

Shot on a combination of film, tape and digital video, the movie, said Ms. Reichert, "really shows off Steve's visual imagination. It's a very slim, very Steve-like film. ... He likes to see how slim a thread you can hang a story on and it still have it be a story. He loves to leave huge gaps for you to fill in yourself."

Sundance organizers plan to show Gravel six times during the 10-day fest.

The filmmakers and several cast and crew members will be on hand for the screenings.

Many of them have ties to Wright State University, where Ms. Reichert teaches, including cinematographer Mike King, who also shot footage for Personal Belongings.

"He's nothing like your typical L.A. (cinematographer)," she said. "He's a real Ohio guy, . . . quiet, unassuming, but brilliant."

High school and college students made up a significant part of the 25-member crew.

The filmmakers have been involved in several programs to teach filmmaking to teens.

Gravel was partially funded by the Ohio Arts Council, one of a relatively few state councils that make grants to filmmakers.

"You could never get anywhere without the Ohio Arts Council," Ms. Reichert said.

It also received funds from the Creative Capital Foundation.

After Sundance, the duo will turn back to A Lion in the House, which they hope to finish for broadcast in 2004.

The project has received funding from ITVS (Independent Television Service).

"Our goal is to show a dynamite clip to the PBS decision-makers and get real national prime-time air time," Ms. Reichert said. "We're trying to make it undeniably great."

The project launched in July 1997.

"We're still shooting footage," said Ms. Reichert. "We check in with the families several times a year, sometimes more.

"They're really incredible people for letting us trail after them through some of the toughest things anybody ever has to live through.

"It's painful, it's hard, but it's also really inspiring."