Barack and Michelle Obama say they're 'so proud' after their first Netflix documentary film scored an Oscar nomination.

The documentary American Factory, which is the first release from the Obamas' production company Higher Ground, earned an Oscars nod on Monday for documentary feature.

It will battle it out for the Oscar against The Cave, The Edge of Democracy, For Sama and Honeyland.

It was among the 24 Academy Awards nominations that Netflix received.

Both Barack and Michelle tweeted their congratulations after American Factory's nomination was announced.

Scroll down for video and full list of nominations

The documentary American Factory, which is the first release from Barack and Michelle Obama's production company Higher Ground, earned an Oscars nod on Monday

Documentary American Factory, which is the first release from Barack and Michelle Obama's production company, was nominated for documentary feature

'Glad to see American Factory's Oscar nod for Best Documentary. It's the kind of story we don't see often enough and it's exactly what Michelle and I hope to achieve with Higher Ground. Congrats to the incredible filmmakers and entire team!' Barack tweeted.

His wife congratulated the film's producers Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert and Jeff Reichert.

'So thrilled that Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar, and all of the incredible people behind #AmericanFactory are nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar! We're so proud of them and amazed by their talent for storytelling.'

The documentary, which was released in August last year, follows a Chinese billionaire coming to Ohio to offer jobs at a reopened General Motors automotive plant.

It tells the story of employees struggling to adjust to new leadership at the plant in Moraine, Ohio, after it was reopened by Shanghai-based firm Fuyao Glass in 2015.

In the film, the workers' excitement is quickly quashed by difficult working conditions, significantly lower pay and management that fires anyone who falls short of company standards and blocks attempts to unionize.

While American Factory never mentions Donald Trump by name, analysts say it offers a biting criticism of the president's failure to grasp complex global economic forces as he promises to reinvigorate manufacturing in America.

Oscar-nominated directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert began filming in 2008 when the iconic GM plant was shuttered and 10,000 workers were laid off.

The documentary, which was released in August last year, follows a Chinese billionaire coming to Ohio to offer jobs at a reopened General Motors automotive plant

They returned in 2015 when Chinese billionaire Dewang - dubbed 'Chairman Cao' - swept in to open a Fuyao auto glass plant.

The film charts the Midwestern rust belt community's journey from optimism at the giant plant's reopening - bringing back vital jobs - toward creeping anger and disillusionment as the new management imposed its strict, exhausting demands on workers, sacking those who don't comply.

It sheds light on tensions between hundreds of laborers brought in from China and the many former GM employees.

The compelling tale of challenges posed by what Bognar and Reichert call 'reverse globalization' struck a chord with the Obamas, who both call the Midwest home.

'Mrs Obama said it resonated with her because her father had done an intense, hardworking job for decades just to provide for his family, and she felt the Midwesterness of the film in what she saw on screen,' Bognar said in a previous interview.

Reichert said that Michelle, a Chicago native, 'felt her own family in the film'.

'I think the President felt there was a certain amount of policy issues and big broad globalization,' she said.

The film is the Obamas' first project under the deal they made with Netflix to produce content that reflects their values.

The former U.S. President and his wife have also entered a multi-year partnership with Spotify to develop and product podcasts to be featured on the music streaming service.

In the film, the workers' excitement is quickly quashed by difficult working conditions, significantly lower pay and management that fires anyone who falls short of company standards and blocks attempts to unionize