President Obama's love story on film

The movie Southside with You is causing a stir at the Sundance Film Festival with its '90% realistic' love story of US President Barack Obama and his wife.

Many prestigious film newspapers have given positive comments to the film.Southside with you.Variety's review said: “Although modest in scale, budget and commercial viability,Southside with youis a distinctive, even daring, film in the American independent film genre.” Vanity Fair commented: “Southside with youcharming and pleasant to watch. A charming and aesthetically pleasing little film.” And the Hollywood Reporter wrote: “It’s a charming and funny film.”

A scene from the movie Southside with you

WithSouthside with you, Richard Tanne (born in 1985) - a name that is still almost unknown in world cinema, suddenly became a notable face when he wrote the script and directed the film. In a recent interview with the press, Richard Tanne recounted the reason that led him toSouthside with you:“It was around 2007, 2008, when Mr. Obama and his wife appeared in public. I saw them exchanging loving and trusting glances. That made me feel attracted and urged to write a classic story, like a boy meets a girl and wants to win her heart. But I only really started writing the script for the film in 2013.”

Richard Tanne said he read many articles, interviews, watched videos, read books, not only to tell the first date, but also the romantic love story of the young lawyer Barack Obama and his girlfriend Michelle Robinson - later his wife. Richard Tanne is sure that the "process" of the first date of the president and his wife in the movie is 90% similar to reality. It was around 1989, when Barack Obama and Michelle Robinson were colleagues working at the same law firm. They dated each other, went to the Art Institute of Chicago, then had lunch, then watched the new film Do the right thing by director Spike Lee. They invited each other to eat ice cream and shared their first kiss in front of the ice cream shop.

Tika Sumpter - a famous American model, singer, and actress was the first to support Richard Tanne's project and became the film's producer. Tika Sumpter also took on the role of Michelle Robinson. Meanwhile, finding an actor to play the role of President Barack Obama in his youth was not easy. Among the list of 30 candidates for the role, Parker Sawyers - a brand new actor in American cinema was finally chosen.

Sensitive topic?

Southside with youis a rare film whose main content is the true love story of a politician. In most "biographical" films about politicians, love stories are only reflected as a small part of their lives.

Politicians and their real stories such as their lives, love, even political and sexual scandals... have become topics for world filmmakers to exploit. Previously, according to Hufflington Post, in the film project called Rodham about Mrs. Hillary Clinton, it will include her love story when she was young with former US President Bill Clinton. Or in 2008, documentary filmmaker George Scott persistently pursued making a film about former French First Lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy, in which there will be a part about her love story with former President Nicolas Sarkozy...

Director Ha Son said: “Foreign directors can exploit the simple and familiar love stories of politicians. They know how to make realistic and touching films to attract audiences. But for domestic filmmakers, when making films about politicians, it is mainly to praise their achievements according to a pre-determined script.”

Director and screenwriter Richard Tanne said he sent the script to the White House before filming began, but received no response. For filmmakers, that’s a common occurrence. “We’ve had a few reliable sources tell us the first couple are interested in the film, and they’re very excited,” he said at the Sundance Film Festival premiere.

In an article published in Vanity Fair (January 25), Richard Tanne hopes that the president and his wife can attend the festival and watch the film over the weekend. “We currently have no plans to screen the film for the president and his wife, but we really hope that they will see it.” Producer and actress Tika Sumpter thought of the idea of ​​​​going to the White House and screening the film there. Meanwhile, actor Parker Sawyers said that the president and his wife can wait to watch the film on Netflix (the largest online movie channel in the US).

According to Thanh Nien