Before the President and First Lady stepped into the national spotlight when they became a high-powered political couple, Barack Obama was just a guy, standing in front of a girl, asking her to go out on a date. In Southside With You, which debuts at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 24, writer/director Richard Tanne takes audiences on that fateful 1989 encounter when a young attorney named Michelle Robinson half-reluctantly went on a date-not-a-date with the firm’s new summer associate, Barack Obama.
“I’ve heard from pretty reliable second-hand sources that they are aware of the movie, that they are curious to see it, and also, I think, rightfully baffled that it exists,” Tanne told Yahoo, who debuted a new clip from the upcoming film.
In the scene, Michelle (Tika Sumpter) outlines to Barack (Parker Sawyers) all of the reasons why it wouldn’t look great for her at work if she “starts dating the first cute black guy who walks through the firm’s doors.”
Barack doesn’t give up, of course, especially after hearing Michelle call him cute. Watch if his persistence pays off in the clip above.
For more on the film, read Yahoo’s interview with Tanne to learn more about casting the two main roles and when Tanne chose to use some creative license when crafting the couple’s first date.
This article originally appeared on EW.com
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