Barack Obama Unveils His Top Film Picks Of 2023, Including Several By His Own Company

Former President Barack Obama recently took to social media to reveal his favorite movies of 2023. The politician-turned-producer shared a list of 13 films that showcased a mix of productions from his own company, Higher Ground, as well as other notable works.

Obama first highlighted three movies produced by Higher Ground: the civil rights biopic Rustin, which features Colman Domingo; the apocalypse film Leave the World Behind, which stars Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali and the music documentary American Symphony, which showcases Jon Batiste. Obama acknowledged his bias that these films were produced by his company but emphasized that they were genuinely among the best movies he watched this year.

In addition to the Higher Ground productions, Obama listed ten other films that caught his attention. These included Alexander Payne‘s dramedy set in a boarding school, The Holdovers, Matt Johnson‘s corporate biopic, BlackBerry, Christopher Nolan‘s historical epic, Oppenheimer, and Cord Jefferson‘s satirical offering, American Fiction.

The international picks on Obama’s list were Justine Triet‘s French courtroom thriller, Anatomy of a Fall, and Hirokazu Kore-eda‘s Japanese slow-burn drama, Monster. Rounding out the list were Celine Song‘s romance film, Past Lives, Ben Affleck‘s Nike-themed dramedy, Air, Nida Manzoor‘s action-comedy, Polite Society and A.V. Rockwell‘s family drama, A Thousand and One.

Along with the list, Obama acknowledged the recent strike by writers and actors who advocated for better working conditions and protections in the industry. He praised their efforts and noted that the new changes would bring positive transformations to the film industry. Obama expressed that the films on his list reflected the hard work of individuals in the industry throughout the past year.

Since 2018, Obama has annually shared his favorite movies. This year’s list is his shortest to date, as previous years’ lists have ranged from 14 to 18 entries. Obama’s selections typically include critically acclaimed titles from around the world, although they do not necessarily align with future awards success.

Earlier this week, Obama also shared his favorite books of the year, which featured works like James McBride‘s The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store and Jonathan Eig‘s King: A Life.

Obama later provided an update, in which he stated that he had watched The Color Purple and decided to add it to his list of favorites for the year.