American Factory a sure-fire nominee for the next Oscars

This well-made and researched documentary on the increasing infiltration of Chinese labour in America’s workforce is surely headed for an Oscars nod. And not just because it’s backed by the Obamas.

Scene from the new documentary American Factory. A Netflix Originals release.

This fascinating, strange and joltingly raw documentary is a sure-fire nominee for the next Oscars, and not just because it has two glamorous names at the top of its production credits.

(Former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle nursed this project through from its Sundance Film Festival premiere to a same-day global release on Netflix this week.)

No, American Factory tells a story which is happening all over the world with greater regularity each year, as cashed up companies start operations in countries other than their own.

Invariably, this means countries that are poorer than their own. Countries where labour is cheap, and the tax breaks are plentiful.

The big twist to the premise of this very well-made and researched documentary is that it is the United States of America that is increasingly supplying the underpaid jobs and overfriendly incentives, while it is China reaping the dividends.

American Factory chronicles the aftermath of Chinese-run Fuyao Glass Company taking over the former General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio.

Directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichart spent the best part of three years chronicling the aftermath of the arrival to Dayton, Ohio of the Chinese-run Fuyao Glass Company.

The factory HQ chosen by the visitors was highly significant, as it used to be a key site in the operations of the once-mighty auto manufacturer General Motors.

Though Fuyao very kindly re-hire many of the locals who used to toil for General Motors, they do so at wage rates akin to that of a teenage fast-food worker. The unions are told to take a hike, while regulatory bodies look the other way.

Further ramping up tensions on the factory floor is the presence of Chinese workers flown in by Fuyao to complete the hours and the tasks that their American counterparts will not.

While the foreign employees happily work around the clock in often dangerous conditions, the Americans shake their heads and wait for the tap on the shoulder that will signify their job is going to someone else.

AMERICAN FACTORY (M)

Director: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert

Starring: Cao Dewang, Dave Burrows, Jill Lamantia, John Gauthier.

Rating: ****

Rolling off the assembly line … and rolling over