Which Netflix original documentary won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2020?

The Netflix original documentary that won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2020 was American Factory.

Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, the film follows workers at a Fuyao Glass factory in Moraine, Ohio, occupying a shuttered General Motors plant. It examines the tensions and unexpected connections between Chinese management and American employees as the factory attempts to build a new workforce.

American Factory premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award. Netflix acquired the film, and it became the first film acquired by Higher Ground Productions, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama. Their involvement helped bring the documentary to a much wider audience.

The award was presented at the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony on February 9, 2020. A common mix-up is confusing the ceremony year with the film’s release year: American Factory is a 2019 film, but it won the Oscar awarded in 2020. My Octopus Teacher won the same category at the following ceremony, in 2021.