Malia Obama presents her directorial debut as part of Sundance Film Festival
Former first daughter Malia Obama is presenting her directorial debut at Sundance.
Obama, who already has built a career in Hollywood, wrote and directed “The Heart,” a comedy-drama that she says examines loneliness through the story of a man grieving his dead mother.
The project is credited to Malia Ann, which is Obama’s middle name. “The Heart” won an award at last October’s Chicago International Film Festival.
In a video describing the film alongside stills, the 25-year-old also describes the short film as “somewhat of a fable” about the “unusual request” left in the mother’s will.
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“The film is about lost objects and lonely people and forgiveness and regret,” Obama says in a “Meet the Artist 2024” video, adding that it also “works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in these things.”
The eldest daughter of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Malia Obama entered the entertainment industry in 2017 as an intern for now-disgraced media mogul Harvey Weinstein. One of her most recent projects is Donald Glover’s Emmy-nominated horror comedy “Swarm.”
The film is part of Sundance’s short film program and will be available for online viewing Jan. 25-28.
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