Malia Obama is being accused of copying an indie filmmaker’s work for her Nike industrial launched earlier this month — the primary advert the previous president’s daughter has directed.
Natalie Jasmine Harris, 27, mentioned Obama’s one-minute industrial had scenes that have been “shockingly similar” to her personal 2024 quick movie “Grace.”
The scene in query is one by which two younger Black ladies play pat-a-cake.
“It’s not about the game,” Harris famous to Enterprise Insider. “It’s about the cinematic tools used to depict it.”
Harris mentioned there have been a variety of technical similarities — from the digital camera angles to the pictures to the framing composition and the colour palette.
“I know art often overlaps, but moments like this hit hard when you’ve poured your heart into telling stories with care and barely get the recognition you deserve. If brands want a certain look, why not hire from the source instead of for name recognition,” she posted on X.
“It’s devastating,” she wrote, subsequent to a side-by-side comparability of the pictures.
Harris says she isn’t annoyed with Obama herself, however with the business.
“It speaks to a larger issue of brands not supporting independent artists and opting for folks who already have name recognition, which doesn’t breed innovative films or original storytelling,” mentioned Harris.
The 2 met finally yr’s Sundance Movie Competition, when Harris screened the 14-minute “Grace” and the 2 had movies in competitors in what was Obama’s red-carpet debut, after the previous first daughter mentioned she’d drop her final title to keep away from being labeled a nepo child.
Nike and Obama didn’t return The Publish’s request for remark.
