Malia Obama is making her Sundance Film Festival debut and red carpet debut all at once!
Malia, 25, directed the short film The Heart, which premiered at the Park City, Utah-based film fest as part of the U.S. short fiction films programming block.
The young writer-director — who is also the eldest daughter of Barack and Michelle Obama — walked her first red carpet on Thursday when the film premiered at the Prospector Square Theatre.
Malia was all smiles as she bundled up against the chilly Park City weather in a full-length grey sweater, long grey knit scarf, white button-down shirt and black leggings, paired with boots.
Credited on the film as Malia Ann, the young filmmaker spoke about the short film in a “Meet the Artist” video series created for this year’s festival.
“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,” Malia shared in the video interview. “We hope you enjoy the film and it makes you feel a bit less lonely, or at least reminds you not to forget about the people who are.”
This marks Malia’s first short film, and her first foray into directing. She previously worked as a writer on the Prime Video thriller series Swarm.
Swarm showrunner Janine Nabers told ET in March that Malia is “an incredible writer” who “brought a lot to the table.”
“Some of her pitches were wild as hell, and they were just so good and so funny,” Nabers said. “She’s really, really dedicated to her craft.”
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