Barack and Michelle Obama's multiyear partnership with Netflix is officially underway. Earlier this year, it was announced that the former president and first lady would be releasing seven various fiction and nonfiction projects under their Higher Ground Productions company. After building excitement, their debut title, American Factory, has now officially hit the streaming platform.
The documentary tells the true story of a Dayton, OH, General Motors plant gravely affected by the 2008 recession, and later salvaged by Chinese billionaire Cao Dewang, who established a factory for his Fuyao Glass company in its place. Directed by Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar, American Factory primarily explores the relationship between Chinese and American workers inside the factory.
On the day of the documentary's release, Netflix shared a conversation between Reichert, Bognar, and the Obamas. In it, the former president said, "We want people to be able to get outside of themselves and experience and understand the lives of somebody else, which is what a good story does." He added, "It helps all of us feel some sort of solidarity with each other."
