Malia Obama ditched her famous last name for her first short film at the Sundance Film Festival in an attempt to get rid of the stigma of nepotism around babies.
The 25-year-old former first daughter has written and directed ‘The Heart’, a short film about the relationship between a mother and her son.
But instead of using her last name in the credits, she opted to ditch Obama and use her middle name, Ann, becoming Malia Ann.
Online viewers have been divided over the decision, with some saying it’s brave of her to act on her own and others saying it’s an attempt to “sneak out of the nepo baby talk.”
It’s her first film to appear at Sundance after interning on HBO’s Girls and working for Harvey Weinstein’s production company. She also reportedly works as a writer on Donald Glover’s Amazon Prime series Swarm.
Malia will appear at the Sundance festival in January for the premiere of her short film.
Malia spent eight years living in the White House while her father was president
Since the Obamas left the White House in 2017, Malia and her younger sister Sasha have kept a relatively low profile.
They both attended college (Malia at Harvard and Sasha at the University of Michigan) and began their own careers.
Malia started out as an intern on Halle Berry’s CBS sci-fi series Extant when she was just 15, and then moved on to intern on HBO’s Girls when she was 17.
She also won an internship for Harvey Weinstein’s production company when she was 19, in the months before the sexual abuse scandal broke in 2017.
She then worked as a writer on Donald Glover’s Amazon Prime series, Swarm. Glover told Vanity Fair in 2022: ‘She is an incredibly talented person. She is very focused and working very hard.
‘I feel like she’s someone who’s going to have some really good things happen to her soon. Her writing style is great.’
Getting a short film accepted to Sundance is extremely competitive: they receive over 10,000 submissions a year and only choose about 200 to participate.
In her Meet the Artist video for her first film at Sundance, Malia said: “The film is about lost objects, lonely people, forgiveness and regret.
He said he “works hard to figure out where tenderness and closeness can exist in these things.”
He added: “We hope you enjoy the film and that it makes you feel a little less alone or at least reminds you not to forget the people who are.”
Her decision to promote herself as Malia Ann divided viewers.
Malia has done several internships in film and now works as an editor.
He moved to the White House with his family in 2008 and stayed during Obama’s second term until 2017.
A comment under the trailer read: I’m so proud of Malia. I noticed that she also uses her middle name. It’s amazing to see people create their own lane of it. I’m sure she will be a great storyteller.’
Another said: ‘I congratulate her on her work. And without taking advantage of her last name. Come on Malia. I hope you win a prize.’
But others were less supportive, cynically suggesting she had abandoned her surname to avoid being accused of nepotism.
One X user said: ‘Obama’s daughter tries to mock baby nepo speech by not using his last name.’ Brother, you’re Obama’s daughter. [sic]’
They added: ‘If you want to be a filmmaker, that’s great, but we all know who you are, you’re Obama’s daughter.’ You can’t hide that.
But an Brilliant logic.’
The ‘Nepo baby’ discourse took the internet by storm in 2022 after an X user posted their surprise upon learning that Euphoria star Maude Apatow was the daughter of director Judd Apatow and actress Leslie Mann.
Her viral post sparked a fierce debate over whether the children of the rich and famous were receiving an unfair advantage.
Critics pointed out a massive glut of rising stars with famous parents, from Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose Depp to Andie MacDowell’s daughter Margaret Qualley.
Malia and her sister grew up in the spotlight, but have kept a relatively low profile since.
Malia became ‘first daughter’ in 2008 when Obama was elected to his first term
Also arriving are Madonna’s daughter, Lourdes Leon, Heidi Klum’s daughter, Leni Klum, and Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, among others.
Online chatter about ‘nepo babies’ reached a fever pitch last December after New York magazine published a viral cover story about the phenomenon.
Dakota Johnson, whose parents are Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith and whose grandmother is Hitchcock blonde Tippi Hedren, was one of the faces on the cover.
Jamie Lee Curtis, the daughter of Psycho actress Janet Leigh and Some Like It Hot dreamer Tony Curtis, then entered the debate.
Calling herself the “OG Nepo Baby,” she complained, “The current conversation about nepo babies is simply designed to try to diminish, denigrate and hurt.”