The Jordanian family drama "May in the Summer" helps kick off the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
The movie tells the story of a writer who returns to Jordan to get married to her Muslim boyfriend.
The film is written, directed and stars Cherien Dabis and Bill Pullman.
Pullman says he immersed himself in Middle Eastern culture and customs to perfect his role.
SOUNDBITE: Bill Pullman, actor, saying (English):
We actually shot during Ramadan so that was long days where you ... and I fasted for two days at one point to get that experience, the call to prayer five times a day, that was all part of the story."
And a part of Dabis' nature.
SOUNDBITE: Cherien Dabis, film maker, saying (English):
"I just wanted to tell a universal story in the Middle East so that we could see the context in the Middle East and yet a story that has nothing to do with the things that we see every day on the news."
For Dabis, participating in the festival's opening night was an uprecedented honor.
SOUNDBITE: Cherien Dabis, film maker, saying (English):
"I find myself always having an out of body experience and I keep saying to myself, 'Be here! Be here!' And it's so hard because it's so overwhelmingly amazing. It's actually difficult to take in."
The Sundance Film Festival runs from January 17 to January 27 in Park City, Utah.
