By Daniel M | January 13, 2020

When the Academy Award nominations were announced on Monday morning, it was revealed that Barack and Michelle Obama’s Netflix documentary American Factory had been nominated for Best Documentary Feature. Afterwards, the former president and first lady spoke out to express their happiness at the nomination.

Breitbart reported that American Factory, which was produced by the Obamas’ production company Higher Ground, tells the story of a Chinese billionaire who re-opens an abandoned General Motors plant in Ohio. The Obamas managed to acquire the film after it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival.

“Glad to see American Factory’s Oscar nod for Best Documentary,” Barack Obama tweeted today. “It’s the kind of story we don’t see often enough and it’s exactly what Michelle and I hope to achieve with Higher Ground. Congrats to the incredible filmmakers and entire team!”

Glad to see American Factory’s Oscar nod for Best Documentary. It’s the kind of story we don’t see often enough and it’s exactly what Michelle and I hope to achieve with Higher Ground. Congrats to the incredible filmmakers and entire team!

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 13, 2020

Michelle Obama also took to Twitter to celebrate the nomination.

“So thrilled that Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar, and all of the incredible people behind ‘American Factory’ are nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar!” Michelle wrote. “We’re so proud of them and amazed by their talent for storytelling. See for yourself now on Netflix.”

So thrilled that Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar, and all of the incredible people behind #AmericanFactory are nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar! We’re so proud of them and amazed by their talent for storytelling. See for yourself now on @Netflix. pic.twitter.com/pLEE5zg0gr

— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) January 13, 2020

Unfortunately for the Obamas, the Academy rules state that only a documentary’s director and producers may be nominated for the movie, so they won’t be able to accept the Oscar statuettes if the movie wins big at the ceremony.

In a piece for Politico, journalist Ted Johnson called American Factory the Obamas’ “first big anti-Trump statement of 2020” in a piece published Tuesday by Politico.

“Its message is clear: Trump’s promise to reinvigorate the industrial heartland is going to take a lot more than a campaign slogan. There are no easy solutions. And if some manufacturing jobs do come back, they’re going to look nothing like they used to,” Johnson wrote. “Americans will have to accept a new reality to stay competitive in the global marketplace — one that they might not like, and one that Trump doesn’t acknowledge.”

This piece originally appeared on Objectivist.co and is used by permission.

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