Barack Obama recently opened up about his daughter Malia Obama’s decision to step away from her last name in her professional work, especially as she launches her career in filmmaking. 

During a recent episode of “The Pivot Podcast,” the former president shared how Malia opted to be credited as “Malia Ann” for her directorial debut, “The Heart,” which premiered at Sundance and other film festivals earlier this year. Barack said he advised her that dropping “Obama” wouldn’t obscure her connection to her famous family. “Her first film went to Sundance and all these fancy film festivals, and she didn’t use ‘Obama’ as a director on the credits,” he explained. “I was all like, ‘You do know they’ll know who you are.’”

Malia wanted her work to stand on its own, Barack shared, recalling her response, “She’s all like, ‘You know what? I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association.’” 

He also noted that both Malia and her younger sister Sasha Obama have been mindful about not relying on their last name professionally. “I think our daughters go out of their way to not try to leverage that,” he said to the podcast hosts Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor, and Ryan Clark, adding, “They’re very sensitive about this stuff. They’re very stubborn about it.”

In a video introducing “The Heart” at Sundance, Malia described her short film as “an odd little story, somewhat of a fable, about a man grieving the death of his mother after she leaves him an unusual request in her will.” She added that the story revolves around “lost objects and lonely people, forgiveness and regret.”