Barack Obama’s 2023 favorite movies list includes 3 films made by his family’s production company
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Former President Barack Obama released his list of favorite movies of 2023 on Wednesday — and three of them are made by Higher Ground, an Obama production company.
“Earlier this year, writers and actors went on strike to advocate for better working conditions and protections,” wrote Barack Obama on X, formerly known as Twitter, referring to the two strikes that created transformational change in the entertainment industry.
Earlier this year, writers and actors went on strike to advocate for better working conditions and protections. It led to important changes that will transform the industry for the better.
Here are some films that reflect their hard work over the last year — including some like… pic.twitter.com/TMH9LeQgsT— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 27, 2023
This tradition of sharing end-of-the-year lists began during his presidency when he would share his favorite books and music. In 2018, Obama began including a list of movies, too, coinciding with the birth of the first lady Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground.
Obama’s list this year includes three works produced by Higher Ground. “Rustin” is a biographical drama, which follows the life of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, played by Colman Domingo. It is rated PG-13 for some violence, language, brief drug use, sexual material and smoking.
“American Symphony,” an intimate biographical documentary, explores Jon Batiste’s life in a year when he composes music — and lands 11 nominations at the 64th Grammy Awards — all while his wife, Suleika Jaouad, fights leukemia. It is rated PG-13 for some strong language.
The third is “Leave the World Behind,” an apocalyptic psychological thriller based on a 2020 novel written by Rumaan Alam. It stars Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la and Kevin Bacon, who pay a dysfunctional group navigating a technology blackout. It is rated R for some sexual content.
All three films were released in November and are available to stream on Netflix. Obama acknowledged he is “biased since these movies were produced by Higher Ground, but these are in fact three of the best films I saw this year.”
The other movies that made it to his list include:
“The Holdovers.”
“Blackberry.”
“Oppenheimer.”
“American Fiction.”
“Anatomy of a Fall.”
“Monster.”
“Past Lives.”
“Air.”
“Polite Society.”
“A Thousand and One.”
He added another movie, “The Color Purple,” to his list a day later.
Update: I just saw The Color Purple and loved it. I'm adding it to this list as one of my favorite movies of the year.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 28, 2023
