Speed Reads

2020 Oscars

Barack and Michelle Obama-backed documentary American Factory wins an Oscar

Barack and Michelle Obama's new production company has already won an Oscar.

Netflix's American Factory on Sunday won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Centered around a manufacturing plant in Dayton, Ohio, it was the first film produced by the Obamas' production company Higher Ground Productions.

Despite American Factory's nomination, the Obamas didn't attend the Oscars, with co-director Steven Bognar recently telling The Hollywood Reporter, "They’re very mindful that if they go somewhere it becomes a big deal, and they're great about: The spotlight should not be on them, it should be on the people in the stories."

But the former president in an Instagram post last month celebrated American Factory's Oscar nomination, writing, "I like this film for its nuanced, honest portrayal of the way a changing global economy plays out in real lives. It offers a window into people as they actually are and it's the kind of story we don’t see often enough. This is exactly what Michelle and I hope to achieve through Higher Ground."