The narrative obviously has roots in your personal life, did that make it easier to write or did that present a whole new set of challenges?
Cherien Dabis: This narrative has much less roots in my personal life than my first film, so it was easier for me to write in many ways. Culturally, I share a lot in common with this film – just being Arab-American and going to Jordan every summer – but as far as the family is concerned, May’s family is very different from my own. In a lot of ways it was almost more fun to write because I really fictionalized from the very beginning, whereas in Amreeka, I think I really struggled to move the story further away from my family and what happened to us during the first gulf war which is what inspired that film.
Your mother’s currently living in Jordan, did she ever come to set?
Cherien Dabis: She did come to set a few times. It was really funny because she’d come to set and then be upset that I didn’t have time to talk to her, so it was a challenge. But, it was fun because she’d come to lunch and I’d get to hang out with her and she got to see what I did, which I think for a long time was sorta this mystery. And, I had other family come to set as well, which was really fun. It was sorta like going home and making a film in your hometown.
There were several scenes where you were running through town and the locals were sorta ogling you. Why’d you feel like that was something you wanted to include in the film?
Cherien Dabis: I think it really embodies the experience of being an outsider, it very much at least cinematically shows that experience of not fitting in, not belonging, because of what you look like, because of what you’re wearing, because of what you’re doing. Going jogging is kind of an American thing. Even when Americans go jogging in Italy, Italians know immediately that they’re American. These are stories I’ve heard from people who see those jogging scenes and think , ‘I had those experiences.’ In Jordan, in particular, it’s not that common to see people jogging in the streets, so they immediately know that you’re not from there when you’re doing that.
I wanted to also, through those scenes, look at the male gaze in Middle Eastern society. You see May jogging, and you see men really looking at her – men and women actually. It’s the idea that people are watching you. That there are societal expectations, that people have their eyes on you, that they’re waiting to see what you’re going to do. I wanted May to feel a little bit naked in those scenes, like she can’t hide, even though she’s trying desperately to sorta hide from herself throughout the film.
Bill Pullman played your father in the film, what was it like working with him?
Cherien Dabis: He was awesome. He’s such a great guy. He’s such an adventurous spirit. He couldn’t wait to come to Jordan. He got there and he just totally immersed himself in the culture. He soaked it in. He was meeting people right and left. Before I knew it, he was having dinner with people he’d just met on the street. He was really excited to be there, and really enthusiastic.
He really wanted to go to Petra, so we sent him to Petra, and it’s really amazing because we were shooting in part during Ramadan and his tour guide in Petra was fasting, so he decided to fast along with the tour guide. So for two days, he’s hiking in the dessert, in like 118 degrees, with no food, and not a drop of water. When he told me the story, I was like ‘Bill, why did you do that? What compelled you to do that?’ And he was like ‘I just wanted that experience. I’ve never known what it was like to be that thirsty. It was amazing.’ That’s just the kind of guy he was. He showed up on set and within the first day of shooting he knew everyone’s names. He would show up with ice cream for the entire crew. He was just really an amazing person. And, he was great to work with. I was definitely intimidated to work with him, especially as an actor, but he was terrific.
What do you want viewers to take away from the film?
Cherien Dabis: This is a film that I think really has the potential to transport people and take them to a country that they might not otherwise ever get to go to, and really show them a side of the Middle East they’ve never seen before. A side where they can have fun, a side where they can be surprised, a side where they can see a story that’s really relatable and universal, so they can see themselves within the story, on some level.
Do you think that makes it particularly relevant considering what’s going on right now in the Middle East?
Cherien Dabis: I think so. I definitely grew up very politicized and I choose to tell another kind of story in the films that I make because I think it’s really important that people see another side of the Middle East. It’s the side that I know. I grew up in Ohio, I didn’t grow up under occupation, I didn’t grow up under the bombs. I grew up in an incredibly lovable family, as dysfunctional as everyone else’s family, but as loving as most. I grew up in a culture that is really incredible with a really deep history, and I want people to see that and appreciate that. I do think that given everything going on in the Middle East it’s really important for both Middle Easterners and non-Middle Easterners.
That concludes our interview, but we’d like to thank Cherien for taking the time to sit down with us. May in the Summer heads to theaters on August 29, so be sure to check it out then.