Malia Obama Attends Sundance Film Festival For Debut Short Film ‘The Heart’

Malia Obama debuts her first feature, a short film titled 'The Heart,' at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

Malia Obama is making strides in her journey to feature filmmaking. The daughter of former first couple Barack and Michelle Obama attended the Sundance Film Festival to debut her short film The Heart.

According to CNN, Obama attended the Salt Lake City, Utah, staple on Jan. 18 to reveal her inaugural short to audiences. The project is part of Sundance’s Short Film Program 1 for its 2024 event.

The festival displayed a “Meet The Artist” video as well, in which Obama, whose name was written as Malia Ann, was heard on a voiceover for the film.

“My name is Malia, and I’m the writer-director of a short called ‘The Heart,’” began the 25-year-old. “Here’s some stills from the film which will be screened with the US fiction short films this year at Sundance.”

She continued, describing the “odd little story,” which depicts a man grieving the loss of his mother.

“This is an odd little story, somewhat of a fable, about a man grieving the death of his mother after she leaves him an unusual request in her will,” she explained. “The film is about lost objects and lonely people, forgiveness and regret. But I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in these things.”

Obama is carrying on in her family’s post-politics footsteps, embarking on the entertainment industry with this feature. Before its premiere, the Harvard alum worked as a writer on Donald Glover’s Swarm for Amazon Prime. As for her famous parents, the Obamas have a development deal with Netflix for their Higher Ground production company. They released their latest film, Rustin, based on openly gay Civil Rights activist Bayard Rustin, to the streamer in November 2023.

“The folks who came together to make this film have my heart, pun intended,” shared Obama near the end of the video, which featured a still of the protagonist holding a literal heart within a jar. “And I’m incredibly grateful to them for giving this story life, and we are grateful to Sundance for giving us the opportunity to share it with you all. We hope that you enjoy the film and that it makes you feel a bit less lonely, or at least reminds you not to forget about the people who are.”