From the White House to Oscar nominee, former President Barack Obama’s documentary is one of the names included when nominations for 92nd Academy Awards were announced Monday.

The documentary American Factory is a project with wife Michelle Obama through Higher Ground, their production company. It debuted on Netflix August 21, 2019, and is recognized by The Academy to compete alongside The Edge of Democracy, Honeyland, For Sama, and The Cave as nominees for documentary feature. This is the first Oscar nomination for the Obamas.

American Factory takes place in post-industrial Ohio, where a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.

Obama, in an Instagram post, had this to say about the nomination.

“Oscar nominations came out today and I’m glad to see ‘American Factory’s’ nod for Best Documentary,” said the former president. “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.”

 

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Oscar nominations came out today and I’m glad to see American Factory’s nod for Best Documentary. 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. Congratulations to the incredible filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar, and the entire team!

A post shared by Barack Obama (@barackobama) on Jan 13, 2020 at 6:13am PST

Filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar shared in a joint statement they are “over the moon at today’s news.”