Barack, Michelle Obama Make Surprise Appearance at Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival to Promote Their Netflix Documentary

Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama made a surprise appearance at Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF) to promote their Netflix documentary, Descendant.

The Netflix film follows the residents of Africatown, Alabama, who are the descendants of the Clotilda — the last known slave ship to arrive to America after the transatlantic slave trade had been outlawed, according to the documentary’s IMDb page.

The film was produced by the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions, which has also previously produced Netflix’s Rustin — a film about civil and gay rights activist and socialist Bayard Rustin.

“When we screened this, we immediately thought, this is why we’re doing Higher Ground,” Michelle Obama said of Descendant, according to a report by Yahoo! Entertainment.

“As black people, we don’t talk about things, and there is a lot of psychology around that. But, what this film reminds us of is the power that our stories have, and we have to tell that truth,” the former First Lady added.

Barack Obama also shared his sentiments, saying the following:

Descendant captures an important chapter in our history; one that is too often distorted or forgotten or buried, and it begins more than a century and a half ago. Like so many stories, it was passed down through whispers, alluded to, generation through generation. For the people in Africatown, it represented a story of extraordinary pain and hardship, but also a story about strength, resilience, and overcoming. For others in Alabama, it was a story that was denied and pushed aside. But regardless, as the novelist William Faulkner once said, ‘The past is never dead and buried; it isn’t even past.’ There’s something about the truth of history that has a way of resurfacing and coming to the light.

In 2019, Obama announced that his Netflix venture with his wife would focus on racial and class issues. The Obamas’ production company had teamed up with Netflix to release content for the streaming giant.

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