Barack and Michelle Obama made their Hollywood debut on Wednesday with a documentary set in industrial Ohio that film reviewers are calling compelling and timely.
โAmerican Factory,โ the story of what happened when a Chinese company took over an abandoned General Motors plant, is the first product of a multi-year collaboration between Netflix (NFLX.O) and Higher Ground, the production company formed last year by the former U.S. president and first lady.
โA good story gives you the chance to better understand someone elseโs life. It can help you find common ground. And itโs why Michelle and I were drawn to Higher Groundโs first film,โ Obama said in a Twitter posting on Wednesday.
The documentary traces the lives of thousands of workers laid off from their auto jobs in Moraine, Ohio, in the 2008 recession, some of whom were hired six years later by Chinese company Fuyao Glass America to make automotive glass in the same plant.
The Washington Post called โAmerican Factory,โ which arrived on Netflix on Wednesday, โa perfect vehicle for (Higher Groundโs) mission to lift up stories from underrepresented groups.โ
โWe want people to be able to get outside of themselves and experience and understand the lives of somebody else,โ Obama told filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar in a promotional video released by Netflix.
Michelle Obama told the filmmakers she was particularly struck by the opening scenes of workers on the factory floor.
โThat was my background, that was my father,โ she said.
โOne of the many things I love about this film… is that you let people tell their own story. โAmerican Factoryโ doesnโt come in with a perspective; itโs not an editorial.โ
The Los Angeles Times called the documentary โcompelling,โ and pop culture website Vox.com said it was โa fascinating peek into the challenges of globalization.โ It received a 97% approval rate on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
Under the Netflix deal, Higher Ground will produce, curate and acquire content for distribution on the streaming service. The value of the deal is not known.
Upcoming programming will include an adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning book โFrederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedomโ by David W. Blight about the slavery abolitionist, a period drama set in the fashion world and a series for pre-schoolers focusing on healthy eating.
