All they do is win, win, win, no matter what!
Forever President and First Lady, Barack and Michelle Obama, just won an Oscar for “American Factory,” the first film under the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions, HuffPost reports.
The Obamas signed a multi-year production deal with Netflix back in 2018. The film is the first of the content to come from the new production company, focusing on the story of a Chinese billionaire who opened a new factory in 2014 at the former General Motors site outside of Dayton, Ohio.
The film was produced by veteran filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar and won the Directing Award for a U.S. documentary last year at the Sundance Film Festival. Higher Ground came on to produce the finished film, with Reichert and Bognar meeting the former leaders of the free world just a month before its Netflix release last August.
“It was amazing when we heard that the President and First Lady had seen our film, and wanted to embrace it and wanted to elevate us as filmmakers. I mean, they’re very much into artists and writers,” Reichert said.
Forever First Lady Michelle Obama spoke about the film at the time saying, “one of the many things I love about this project is that it’s not an editorial. I mean, you truly let people speak for themselves.”
“One of the simple joys of our time in public service was getting to meet so many fascinating people from all walks of life, and to help them share their experiences with a wider audience. We hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world,” Forever President Barack Obama said of their Netflix partnership.
“American Factory” won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 2020 Academy Awards.
We can’t wait to see what’s next from Higher Ground Productions.
Photo Courtesy of Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press