WASHINGTON, D.C.: First Lady Melania Trump capped her first year back in the White House with the global release of a documentary she produced about the 20 days leading up to her husband Donald Trump's return as president.

"Melania" the film, opened in theaters worldwide on January 30 after its January 29 premiere at the Kennedy Center, where the Trumps were the final VIPs to walk a charcoal-colored runway for the event.

"I want to show the audience my life, what it takes to be a first lady again and (the) transition from private citizen back to the White House," Melania Trump told reporters. Audiences will see how she conducts her businesses and philanthropy, cares for her family, and sets up her White House team, she added.

"It's beautiful, it's emotional, it's fashionable, it's cinematic, and I'm very proud of it," she said.

AmazonMGM Studios produced the documentary that is said to have cost US$40 million. It will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video after its theatrical run on approximately 1,600 screens worldwide, including about 1,500 in the United States.

Director Brett Ratner said he would not judge the film's success by ticket sales. He told reporters before the premiere that documentaries usually do not make much money at the box office and are not meant to succeed in theaters like regular movies.

Several members of the president's Cabinet, lawmakers, and conservative media figures attended the screening at the Kennedy Center's Opera House.

The Republican president watched the nearly two-hour film for the first time at a private screening in the White House over the weekend. He said he thought the film was "really great."

Trump said the film brings back a sense of glamour that he believes is missing today, adding that the country could use more of it.

Melania said the film shows her private, behind-the-scenes life as she balances being a businesswoman, a wife, and a mother, while also managing her family's move back to the White House.

In the movie trailer, she says that people are curious about her life and that the film is meant to answer those questions.

In another scene from the trailer, filmed on Inauguration Day, Melania is inside the Capitol waiting to enter the Rotunda. She looks into the camera and says, "Here we go again."

In her 2024 memoir, she wrote that she values her privacy. She appears in public less often than some former first ladies, which may affect how people see her, but she prefers to do things on her own terms.

According to her longtime adviser, Marc Beckman, she spent long periods away from Washington last year working on the documentary and was closely involved in every aspect of its production.

Protecting children's safety remains one of her main priorities. She used her influence to push Congress to pass the "Take It Down Act," which makes it a federal crime to share intimate images online without permission. The president signed the law and invited her to sign it as well.

The film is Ratner's first project since he was accused of sexual misconduct during the early days of the #MeToo movement. His lawyer has denied the accusations.

Ratner shares producer credits with the first lady, Marc Beckman, and Fernando Sulichin of New Element Media. Filming began in December 2024.