Michelle and Barack Obama’s eldest daughter is the surprise guest at the 50th edition of the Deauville Festival. The 26-year-old was awarded for “The Heart”, her first short film.
She is the surprise guest of this 50th edition of the Deauville American Film Festival. Malia Ann, 26, is the daughter of Michelle and Barack Obama. Alongside Michael Douglas and the jury chaired by Benoît Magimel, the young director received the price “new generation” during the opening ceremony on Friday, September 6, with the added bonus of screening his 18-minute short film for the first time in France.
His film, starring Tunde Adembimpe, lead singer of the band TV on the Radio, tells the story of a lonely man in mourning after an argument with his mother over shopping and a strange request in her will: “I am happy that the public can watch my film and have their reaction. It is important as a young director. I want this short film to provoke conversations, exchanges elsewhere than in my country. And I am delighted that it is happening here, in a country that shows me so much kindness and attention.”confides Malia Ann.
The young woman delivered a remarkable speech on the immense stage of the Deauville Festival: “I wrote this film as a little fable to express the feeling of loss and loneliness.“, explains the latter.”I was afraid that the story would be simple or too banal or that it wouldn’t do enough to address a political and social message.”
“But working on this film, I understood what is often said about people in their twenties.” she said.We think we know everything about everything and then we quickly realize that no one knows anything about anything. You realize that the world is incredibly big and overwhelming. You witness the cruelty and the disappointment, the failures of the system. You can be tempted to throw it all away. But I understood that it was harder to create than to destroy..”
Screenwriter for an Amazon series
Malia Ann was 11 years old when her father Barack Obama became President of the United States on November 4, 2009.
In 2015, she did a summer internship on the set of the series Girls. No one imagined, at the time, that she dreamed of being a screenwriter and director. But at Harvard University, the student obtained, in 2021, a degree in English language with a specialty in dramaturgy.
Spotted by actor Donald Glover and his team, the daughter of the former American head of state then worked as a screenwriter for the series. “Swarm” on Prime Video. It’s a revelation! Malia Ann then continues with the writing of The Hearther first short film presented this year in Deauville. A great start to the career of the young director.
