Sundance Film Fest: What Malia Obama's Short Film 'The Heart' Depicts

Malia Ann Obama, the older daughter of former US President Barack Obama, is debuting her short film The Heart at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Utah. She made a red carpet appearance at the gala on Thursday, to announce the details of the project. In a video posted to Sundance Institute's YouTube, Obama introduces and shares a glimpse of The Heart to her curious followers. The 25-year-old has eschewed her honoured surname in the credits of the film written and directed by her. 

What Is The Heart About?

Malia Ann Obama describes her short film as depicting "lost objects and lonely people and forgiveness and regret." She further says, "But I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in these things. 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."

Obama has shown keen interest in the art of filmmaking for several years. The Harvard graduate has been a writer for several projects, including some with renowned filmmakers. In 2021, she struck a collaboration with Donald Glover for Swarm, a dark-comedy show about celebrity fandoms.

The Obama family owns a production house, Higher Ground Productions, which has yielded many projects like Leave the World Behind (2023) and Working: What We Do All Day (2023). The latter won Barack Obama an Emmy Award for 'Best Narrator'. High Ground Productions has a development deal with the streaming platform Netflix, where these projects are available.

Malia Ann Obama's Earlier Sundance Fame

This is not the first time Malia Ann Obama's name has echoed at the Sundance Film Festival. She was all the talk during the 2017 festival too; but, not for filmmaking. The then 18-year-old caught all eyes for her protest against Donald Trump's move to revive the Dakota Access Keystone pipeline which was halted by her father during his term.

The construction of the pipeline would reportedly damage the land of native Americans, causing outrage across the USA. Obama took part in an event that supported the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's protest against the pipeline along with actress Shailene Woodley, who was even arrested for her earlier protest against the same issue.