WhenNadia Hallgrensigned up to direct Netflix’sBecoming, she had no idea all the places the project would take her.
“What I thought was extraordinary is that her childhood home is pretty much intact.
We see her teenage bedroom, and there’s still a Raggedy Ann doll on the bed.
Netflix
“Moving through that space was so powerful.
I think he really understood their beginnings very well.
I appreciated how they allowed themselves to be vulnerable with me there with the camera present.
Isaac Palmisano/Netflix
I also think it was quite a moving scene in the film.”
When working around the Obama family, Hallgren had to learn early on how to navigate in their world.
Something that can be complex due to the level of protection they have around them at all times.
Netflix
And she’s kind of always surrounded by Secret Service, and they move very quickly.
“It was really incredible to be in those rooms when Mrs. Obama engaged with young people.
“She just really knows how to connect with young people.
It was really transformative to watch that.
The young people would just be glowing!
You could see the confidence that she transferred to them.
They were like, ‘We can do this!
We now have this understanding of who we can be.’
And I just thought that was an extraordinary gift that I had never seen before.
It’s really something magical.”
So would Hallgren consider another dive into the Obama-verse with a totally different angle?
“You know, that’s something I hadn’t thought about,” she responds seemingly interested.
