So glad to see their heart and honesty recognized—because the best stories are rarely tidy or perfect. The second is somewhat counterintuitive: the Netflix factor. ... Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Productions co-presents this Academy Award-winning documentary. We sit down and we tell each other our story and it creates empathy.”Two people involved with the film, co-producer Mijie Li and entrepreneur Cao Dewang, who was featured in the documentary, were unable to travel from China to attend the ceremony because of the coronavirus travel ban, Reichert added. "And he shakes hands with all the crew and everybody that's there. But despite backing this year’s Academy Award-nominated documentary feature “American Factory,” the Obamas won’t be adding any Oscar statuettes to their mantle. And we sit down, and we talk. American Factory is the first Obama production to reach Netflix subscribers.
We really talked about storytelling and about why, in their legacy, they wanted to form a company to tell stories. Reichert recalled. Glad to see two talented and downright good people take home the Oscar for Higher Ground’s first release.
"The documentary, which won a directing award earlier this year at Sundance, looks at how their cultures clash (with the Chinese workers getting lessons in how Americans are overconfident and need to be praised), how the workers are taken advantage of by management (they're convinced not to join a union for the security of their jobs) and how automation could take many of their jobs.“I hope our film makes you see two things: One is that workers around the world are definitely getting pushed down, but also that we can be fair to each other, we can listen to each other," Reichert said backstage. Choose the plan that’s right for you. "American Factory," the first title from Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Productions, won Sunday for best documentary feature for a film that tells the story of a Chinese billionaire who opens a glass factory in a former General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio, and hires both American and Chinese people to work there.Barack Obama congratulated directors Reichert and Steven Bognar "for telling such a complex, moving story about the very human consequences of wrenching economic change. Hannah YasharoffCarly MallenbaumUSA TODAY "Congrats to Julia and Steven, the filmmakers behind American Factory, for telling such a complex, moving story about the very human consequences of wrenching economic change. "Michelle Obama echoed her husband's statement, cheering on Reichert, Bognar "and the whole crew on winning Best Documentary for #AmericanFactory, Higher Ground's first release! That’s what we all do. In 2017, the streamer won the award for its documentary Icarus, which explored a Russian doping scandal. While Oscar voters have long resisted awarding the streaming service’s scripted dramas and comedies, its documentaries have conversely fared quite well at the Academy Awards. "Congrats to Julia, Steven, and the whole crew on winning Best Documentary for#AmericanFactory, Higher Ground's first release! Digital access or digital and print delivery. 'American Factory,' documentary backed by Obamas' production company, wins Oscar Published Sun, Feb 9 2020 9:38 PM EST Updated Mon, Feb 10 2020 1:53 PM EST Sarah Whitten @sarahwhit10 But that’s where the truth so often lies.https://t.co/qtdNEw9H3fOriginal content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. Videos American Factory.