Malia Obama debuts short film ‘The Heart’ at Sundance Film Festival

By Dan Heching, CNN

(CNN) — Malia Obama is following in the footsteps of her parents, but not in the way you might imagine.

The former first daughter debuted her short film “The Heart” at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Thursday, appearing on the festival red carpet to herald the project.

In a “meet the artist” clip from the Sundance Institute on YouTube, Obama – whose last name is not included on the video page – describes the short (which she wrote and directed) as an “odd little story, somewhat of a fable” about a man grieving the loss of his mother after receiving an “unusual” request from her in her will.

“The film is about lost objects and lonely people and forgiveness and regret, but I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in these things,” Obama is heard saying in voiceover in the clip.

“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,” she later added.

Filmmaking is surely a lauded pursuit in the Obama household.

In 2018, Obama’s parents inked a development deal between their company Higher Ground Productions and Netflix, which has yielded several projects, including last month’s thriller “Leave the World Behind” – starring Oscar-winning actors Mahershala Ali and Julia Roberts – as well as the documentary “Working: What We Do All Day,” which netted Barack Obama his second Creative Arts Emmy earlier this month for best narrator.

According to Sundance, “The Heart” is playing in the Short Film Program 1 at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

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