Zoe Saldaña is starring in “The Absence of Eden,” a film trailing an undocumented immigrant who flees Mexico in order to seek sanctuary, running into many dangers along the way. It marks her first time being directed by her husband, Marco Perego.

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Perego co-wrote and directed the project, whihch serves as his feature debut. “I was really proud of him, that out of all the subjects that he could be, you know, building a story around, he chose immigration and the angle of humanity, which keeps us very neutral, but also keeps us in the form of art of telling stories that are compelling about human beings, about people,” said Saldaña in an interview with CBS Morning.

Perego said that the film was inspired on one of his sculptures from 2016, where he built the work out of the shoes worn by children who died while immigrating from Syria to Italy. The sculpture is now exhibited in a museum in Vancouver. Perego shared that he wanted to create a story that had a more “global aspect,” and that he spent two years conducting the necessary research for the project, including various trips to the US-Mexico border.

"My biggest goal was to be as honest as possible when I was telling the story,” he said.

Saldaña and Perego’s experience working together

Despite the fact that the two have been together for over a decade, this marks the first occasion when they’ve made a film in collaboration. Saldaña and Perego discussed their working relationship and revealed that while there were some disagreements, they ended up resolving them. “When she speaks Spanish, I'm in trouble," he joked.

“The Absence of Eden” premieres in theaters this April 12th.