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Addie Morfoot Contributor Five documentary filmmakers have been chosen to receive Catapult Film Fund‘s annual research grant. Each recipient will receive $10,000 in direct support and six months of mentorship from industry advisors to support new nonfiction projects.

Alison Herman TV Critic In 2020, the Academy Award for Documentary Feature went to “American Factory,” a portrait of a former General Motors plant taken over by Fuyao, a Chinese company that lowered safety standards and pay while fiercely resisting unionization. The Oscar was a victory not just for filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, but for the company that acquired “American Factory” as its first major feature: Higher Ground, the production outfit of former President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama. The new Netflix series “Working” — subtitle: “What We Do All Day” — is inspired by the Studs Terkel book of the same name, published in 1974. But it’s also an informal sequel of sorts to “American Factory,” making many of the same points about the evolution of labor and the erosion of the middle class. “Working” also shares with its predecessor the same inherent tensions that stem directly from the Obamas’ sign-on. In the case of “Working,” the country’s 44th commander in chief is more than just a name in the credits; he’s also the narrator and on-camera host, reprising his dual role from prior Higher Ground series “Our Great National Parks.” That hands-on involvement only underlines the nature of “Working,” and Higher Ground projects as a whole. It’s a stand-alone political message that’s also a piece of a larger political legacy. Inevitably, the latter overshadows and complicates the former.

Julia Reichert, the documentary filmmaker who won an Oscar in 2020 with husband and directing partner Steven Bognar for American Factory, died last night of bladder cancer. She was 75.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticDave Chappelle’s people don’t want anybody to review his new “Untitled” documentary project.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterTribeca Festival, the first in-person film festival in the U.S.

Next month’s Tribeca Film Festival will close with a still-untitled documentary produced by comedian Dave Chappelle about the issues confronting a rural Ohio town in 2020.

Tomris Laffly Midway through Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar’s stirring documentary “9to5: The Story of a Movement,” Jane Fonda briefly appears as the film’s most famous talking head.

Matthew Carey For more than a year and a half the documentary American Factory has been on the kind of awards run that dreams are made of.It’s now in contention for three Emmys, earning nominations late last month for directing, cinematography and editing. At the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, where American Factory premiered, it won the documentary directing award for filmmaking couple Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert.

Even in our supposedly more enlightened times, when people hear the word ‘labor,’ they are likely to conjure up a predictable set of mental images: Burly white guys in hard hats. Nevermind that the labor movement’s momentum in recent years has been almost entirely due to the organizing efforts of women and people of color in lower-paid service industries.

Julia Reichert's now classic and still inspiring Union Maids, chronicling three women in the 1930s labor movement, was released in 1976. While she was making that film, a group called 9to5, devoted to obtaining equal rights and fair conditions for women office workers, was gaining momentum.

Barack and Michelle Obama's new production company has already managed to add an Oscar to its credit and the former United States President and first lady are over the moon! Netflix’s American Factory won an award for Best Documentary Feature at the 92nd Annual Academy Awards and the Obamas posted a sweet appreciation post for the directors and congratulated them on the win.

By Matt Grobar

Netflix’s “American Factory,” produced by Michelle and Barack Obama, took home the award for best documentary at the 92nd Oscars. It’s the first Academy Award for the Obamas’ production company, Higher Ground.

American Factorytook home the award for best documentary feature at the 2020 Oscars on Sunday night.The Netflix documentarymarksthe first film from Barack and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground Productions.

By Matthew Carey

Editor Lindsay Utz admits filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert never fully counted the hours of footage shot for the Oscar-nominated documentary “American Factory,” but she puts it close to 2000 hours.

By Matthew Carey

The nominations for the 2020 Academy Awards have officially been released and there are some mixed reviews.

By Dino-Ray Ramos

From the White House to the Academy Awards.

By Anita Bennett