Malia Obama Drops Her Famous Last Name For Her New Short Film, ‘The Heart’

On Friday, Malia Obama attended the Deauville American Film Festival to celebrate her directorial debut, a short film entitled The Heart.

Obama, 26, wore a Vivienne Westwood corset and maxi skirt to the event in France. She paired the look with tall leather boots.

In a video posted to social media, the former first daughter said she was “so excited” to attend the festival.

“I’ve never done anything like this, so [I’m] like a little bit terrified but mostly just excited,” she said.

The Heart follows a man as he grieves the passing of his mother and tries to carry out her last request.

“The film is about lost objects and lonely people and forgiveness and regret,” Obama said in a “Meet the Artist” video. “But I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in those things.”

The 18-minute film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January. It marks her first time directing following her graduation from Harvard University, where she studied visual and environmental studies.

The young director chose to drop her last name from the film’s credits, listed only as Malia Ann.

Before directing, Obama worked as a writer for the Prime Video series Swarm, which starred actor and singer Donald Glover.