Malia Obama, the 26-year-old daughter of former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, attended the 50th annual Deauville American Film Festival in France on Friday, where she presented her short film and directorial debut, The Heart.
At the festival, Malia was awarded the Young Spirit award and noted that she was not accustomed to the red carpet experience, as reported by PEOPLE.
“I’m so excited. I mean, I’ve never done anything like this … so of course [I’m] a little bit terrified, but mostly just excited,” the filmmaker told Paris Match in a TikTok clip cited by PEOPLE.
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For the event, Malia donned a distinctive Vivienne Westwood outfit featuring a blue and white plaid layered skirt paired with a red and black off-the-shoulder corset-style top.
Malia told Paris Match of her look, “Vivienne Westwood, Queen.”
“It’s cool,” she added. “I don’t know as much about fashion, but I’m happy to be wearing it.”
Malia produced her film The Heart under the name Malia Ann, using her middle name.
Per a synopsis, The Heart — which is 18 minutes long — tells the story of, “A lonely man [who] grieves the death of his mother after an argument about groceries and an odd request in her will,” according to the Deauville American Film Festival’s website.
Another message on the festival’s site added, “For this 50th anniversary edition, the Deauville American Film Festival wanted to celebrate the new figures of tomorrow’s cinema, by awarding a prize to an emerging talent, specially created for the event.”
“In this exceptional year, the Young Spirit Award goes to director Malia Ann, in her presence, for her first short film, The Heart,” it continued.
Malia’s latest appearance follows the screening of her film The Heart at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it was featured among U.S. short fiction films in January.
While being interviewed by the film festival in a segment called “Meet The Artist” at the time, Malia said of the project, “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.”
“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,” she added.
Malia initially worked as a writer on the Prime Video thriller series Swarm. In a March 2023 interview with Entertainment Tonight, showrunner Janine Nabers praised Malia as an “incredible writer” who “brought a lot to the table”.
“She’s really, really dedicated to her craft,” Nabers told the outlet.
