Higher Ground Productions

Higher Ground Productions, often known as Higher Ground, is an United States independent production company founded by former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Higher Ground
Private
IndustryEntertainment
Founded2018 (2018)
Founder
Headquarters
United States
Services

As of 2020, the company has received and won one Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for American Factory.[1]

History

In May 2018, Barack and Michelle Obama launched Higher Ground Productions by signing a multi-year deal with Netflix to produce scripted and unscripted film and television projects, with the goal of the company to lift up diverse voices in the entertainment industry.[2] Michelle Obama stated "I have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire us, to make us think differently about the world around us, and to help us open our minds and hearts to others."[2] In February 2019, Priya Swaminathan, Tonia Davis, and Qadriyyah “Q” Shamsid-Deen joined the company, with Swaminathan and Davis serving as co-heads, and Shasid-Deen serving as a creative executive.[3]

On June 6, 2019, Spotify announced a partnership with Higher Ground to produce Spotify exclusive podcasts.[4]The first podcast under the partnership, The Michelle Obama Podcast, was released on July 29, 2020.[5]

The company's first produced film, American Factory, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2020.[6] In May 2020, Netflix released Becoming a documentary following Michelle Obama on her book tour promoting her memoir of the same name Becoming[7]

Higher Ground has multiple projects in development including a feature film adaption of Frederick Douglass's biography, a drama series set in New York City set after post-WWII following the world of fashion, a scripted anthology series of the New York Times obituary column highlighting deaths of remarkable people not reported, a documentary series adaption of “The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy” by Michael Lewis and a half-hour preschool series Listen to Your Vegetables & Eat Your Parents[8]

Productions
Release date Title Format Notes
August 21, 2019 American Factory Film
March 25, 2020 Crip Camp Film
May 6, 2020 Becoming Film
July 29, 2020 The Michelle Obama Podcast Podcast Produced in exclusive partnership with Spotify.
gollark: "Black lives matter, as do all lives but we've decided to focus on black ones for this"
gollark: I do feel like some vaguely associated stuff like, say, actually privileging black people over other ones in some scenarios is bad.
gollark: I mean, it would be weird to not want racial equality.
gollark: I guess "I'm not entirely sure what's going on with all the protests at this point, but racial equality sounds good at least".
gollark: Hi!

References
  1. Carey, Matthew (February 9, 2020). "'American Factory' Reaches Highest Ground With Oscar Documentary Feature Win". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  2. Neuman, Scott (May 22, 2018). "Obamas Sign Deal With Netflix, Form 'Higher Ground Productions'". NPR.org. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  3. Thorne, Will (February 26, 2019). "Barack and Michelle Obama Appoint Co-Heads for Higher Ground Productions". Variety. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  4. Hayes, Dade (June 6, 2019). "Spotify, Barack And Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Strike Exclusive Podcast Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  5. Grady, Constance (July 30, 2020). "The Michelle Obama Podcast's first episode proves it's fun to just hand out with the Obamas". Vox. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  6. Gonzalez, Sandra (January 13, 2020). "Barack and Michelle Obama's production company scores first Oscar nomination". CNN. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  7. Coleman, Nancy (April 27, 2020). "Michelle Obama's Memoir 'Becoming' Will Be a Netflix Documentary". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  8. Obenson, Tambay (April 30, 2019). "Barack & Michelle Obama's Production Company Reveals Initial Netflix Programming Slate". IndieWire. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
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