Barack Obama Loved Neon’s Film Slate This Year

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While a new president has taken over the Trump-Kennedy Center, Barack Obama recently shared his favorite cultural works of 2025. On December 18th, he published three lists: books, movies, and songs (unfortunately, no TV shows made the cut!). His movie list includes 11 films, mostly potential Best Picture winners, along with the documentary Orwell: 2+2=5 and Aziz Ansari’s Good Fortune. Notably, four of the films come from the distributor Neon, and all four are international productions: Sentimental Value, No Other Choice, It Was Just an Accident, and The Secret Agent.

This year, Barack Obama’s Oscar picks are much closer to the Academy’s choices than they were last year, when only four of his selections received Best Picture nominations. The biggest surprise this year was that Marty Supreme wasn’t nominated. It makes you wonder if he’s been reading Vulture’s awards predictions newsletter, Gold Rush, and if he has a dislike for table tennis!

Among his favorite books from the latter half of 2025 were Susan Choi’s Flashlight (a Booker Prize finalist), Zadie Smith’s Dead or Alive, and Michelle Obama’s The Look—though he acknowledges he might be a little biased toward the last one.

When asked about his music choices, Obama couldn’t pick between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, so he included songs from both artists – Kendrick Lamar’s collaboration with SZA, “Luther,” and Drake’s “Nokia.” He went with a very mainstream pick with Alex Warren’s “Ordinary,” but also showcased good taste by including “Not in Surrender” by Nigerian artist Obongjayar. Lucy Dacus, who previously jokingly called him out for featuring her music, wasn’t on this year’s list, even though she’s released a new album.

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2025-12-19 01:54