Malia Obama turns director with short film; mentor Donald Glover praises her writing skills

Former US President Barack Obama’s elder daughter Malia Obama is making headlines in the world of arts and entertainment. Why? The 24-year-old is all set to direct a short film, which will be released under Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor-singer-producer Donald Glover’s new production company, Gilga.

Barack and Michelle Obama’s daughter has also previously worked on Donald’s Amazon Prime Video series Swarm, which premiered on March 17. However, the short film project is dubbed a major milestone in her film career.

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According to reports, Donald has mentored Malia throughout the process of her filmmaking. In an interview with GQ, he said, “The first thing we did was talk about the fact that she will only get to do this once.” In her initial days, he reportedly told her, “You’re Obama’s daughter. So, if you make a bad film, it will follow you around.”

Praising the Harvard graduate’s writing skills, the producer also said, “She’s just like, an amazingly talented person. She’s really focused, and she’s working really hard. I feel like she’s just somebody who’s gonna have really good things coming soon. Her writing style is great.”

According to Swarm co-creator Janine Nabers, some of Malia’s pitches were “wild as hell, and they were just so good and so funny”. Adding to that, Nabers told Entertainment Tonight. “She’s an incredible writer. She brought a lot to the table … She’s really, really dedicated to her craft.”

Malia collaborated with Nabers to write the episode of Girl, Bye. It continues the series’ plot that revolves around a young woman, Dre, who is obsessed with a fictional R&B star resembling Beyoncé.

More details about the story of Malia’s new short film are yet to be revealed.