A month before her wedding, Jordanian-American May (Cherien Dabis) visits her mother (Hiam Abbass) in Amman to convince her to attend the big day. A successful writer back home in New York, May underestimates her born-again mother’s opposition to her upcoming nuptials to a Muslim man, and her two immature sisters (Nadine Malouf and Alia Shawkat), also visiting their mother, are no help in convincing her. Meanwhile, May wonders if the fact her fiance won’t fly out to Jordan to meet her family is a sign that their relationship is doomed.

In her screen debut, writer-director Dabis makes for a warm presence in this sophomore work which premiered as the opening night film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Her previous directorial effort was the well-received Amreeka, which was nominated for Best Film by the Independent Spirit Awards. Dabis was also a writer for Showtime’s The L Word.

May in the Summer opens August 22.